Picking up litter

Supporting the South Shore clean-up

Prince Edward County’s south shore is a special place. The South Shore Joint Initiative (SSJI) and its many supporters think so too. The area, an extensive swath of rural lands on the extreme southern portion of the County is also the last undeveloped Lake Ontario shoreline and public lands in Canada. A registered charity, SSJI formed in 2018 and represents nine local, regional and national organizations who have come together to advocate for continued conservation and protection of the lands and surrounding waters of the Important Bird and Biodiversity Area. SSJI partner organizations include Prince Edward County Field Naturalists, Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory, Alliance to Protect Prince Edward County, Birds Canada, Kingston Field Naturalists, Nature Canada, Ontario Nature, Quinte Field Naturalists, and Hastings Prince Edward Land Trust.

As with any natural area close to the shore, litter can be a big problem. If it’s not dropped or left by visitors to the place, it’s likely to be washed and blown ashore, sometimes originating from afar depending on water currents and wind speed and direction. Either way, garbage is a problem for the environment and especially for wildlife where animals or birds may attempt to ingest a piece of litter that isn’t digestible, or an animal may get caught in a discarded piece of metal or plastic. The South Shore is also a key migration route for thousands of birds who fly thousands of miles to migrate to warmer southern climes in the fall, where they return to the area in the spring, every one of them crossing Lake Ontario to reach Prince Edward County.

Saturday, September 18 is the first ever cleanup event of the South Shore. The rain or shine event encourages folks come out to pick-up trash along the roadsides and beach areas at Ostrander Point Crown Land Block and Point Petre Provincial Wildlife Area. Those interested can pick one of eight numbered road intersections of their choice to clean-up where instructions and garbage bags will be provided by volunteers.

“People can go down the road they picked and to the beach area, and they can take their bags back and leave them at the top of the road,” said Cheryl Anderson, SSJI vice-president. “And we are asking them to take pictures of anything that isn’t safe to pick-up, ie too big or dangerous.”

All are welcome, and families especially are encouraged to participate. “It’s an opportunity for families to get out and it’s safe thing to do if you are with family or friends, and while you are picking up garbage you are outdoors and it’s really good for you, for everybody’s physical, mental and emotional health.” After the clean-up, everyone is invited to bring a picnic (and a lawn chair or blanket) to enjoy at the nearby Moses Hudgin Log House site for a wrap-up celebration. There will themed games and prizes, and live music with acclaimed Canadian folkpop singer songwriter duo Kyra and Tully who will perform a song they wrote about the South Shore. There will also be coffee and pastries for sale from the Fine Grinds Coffee Truck, as well as wooden handcrafted birdhouses for purchase.

The prelude to the clean-up event kicked-off on September 1 with a virtual screening of Rochelle Byrne’s documentary Shoreline: The Paddle against Plastic. It follows Rochelle Byrne as she embarks on a 430-kilometre paddle journey across Lake Ontario, from Kingston to Niagara to raise awareness about plastic pollution during the time of the pandemic. The documentary trailer can be viewed at agreenerfuture.ca/shoreline. Byrne is the executive director and founder of Oshawa- based A Greener Future, an organization established in 2014 looking to protect Lake Ontario with its litter clean-up programs, where the Love your Lake programs run each year and aim to clean up areas along the shore of Lake Ontario. Byrne came to do a clean-up at Wellington beach in June 2019 along with Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor, Elizabeth Dowdeswell. To date, A Greener Future has picked-up 2,659,969 pieces of litter along Lake Ontario shores. There will be a presentation by Bryne who will be in attendance for the clean-up event. “Hopefully people will come and hopefully people will pick up garbage,” said Anderson.

The South Shore Clean-up is on Saturday, September 18 at 9 a.m. and it will go ahead rain or shine, where all current COVID-19 protocols will be followed. Those interested in attending this free event are asked to register in advance at ssji.ca where further information can be found about the event and the organization.