Our 8th Annual Shoreline Cleanup was a Huge Success!
The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, which is presented by Loblaw Companies Limited, is a national conservation initiative of the Vancouver Aquarium and World Wildlife Fund Canada. Citizens can take action in their communities by cleaning up trash, which helps people, wildlife, and the environment.
The Toronto Zoo’s Adopt-A-Pond Wetland Conservation Programme has been hosting a Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup annually since 2010. Our location is a section of the West Rouge Beach Park, which contains a marsh, trails, and the beach itself. On Friday, September 22 from 10am-2pm, over 50 participants helped clean up the area! This included staff from Adopt-A-Pond, staff from other Toronto Zoo departments such as Education and Exhibit Design, and members of the public.
Over 1557 pieces of trash were collected! Cigarette butts made up 350 of those pieces and tiny trash pieces of foam/glass/plastic were high as well. The most unusual items were dead fish, bricks, two t-shirts, a whole chair, and large pieces of metal.
Note that there was more trash collected than that shown in the picture below.
Disposal of garbage and recycling in the appropriate containers is very important, as is the motto “reduce, reuse, and recycle”. Discarded garbage affects the environment in many ways including blocking waterways and polluting soil and habitats. It is also harmful to animals as they may, for example, ingest plastic, get stuck inside bottles, or get caught in loose fishing wire. This can lead to injury, starvation, growth problems, or even death. The more we can do to prevent these problems, the better!
Thank you to everyone who attended and look out for our next cleanup in 2018! If you are interested in hosting or attending another cleanup, please see: http://shorelinecleanup.ca/.
