Lessons in pitching in

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This article was published 19/06/2024 (778 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Litterbugs beware: Winnipeggers have been taking out the trash, including elementary school students set on cleaning up their schoolyard.

“I want to see no littering because I see cigarette butts always in our yard,” said seven year-old Merkeb as she clutched a bag full of garbage.

She was one of several students at Kent Road elementary school in east Elmwood who took to the field Wednesday to pick up litter, the third day of a school-wide cleanup.

Armed with garbage bags and plastic gloves, they took up their mission with enthusiasm.

“We don’t want Canada to be dirty,” said Kyle, a Grade 1 student.

Merkeb, who’s in Grade 2, said she’s learned a lot about pollution in the environment from her teacher.

Teacher Lynne MacDuff said it’s important to have her students pick up garbage at a young age because it teaches them the responsibility of not leaving garbage behind.

“The kids loved it,” said MacDuff. “We cleaned out the front of the school earlier, and they were getting excited when they found garbage, but also they were getting kind of frustrated and mad that people were throwing out their garbage.”

MacDuff said she made teaching about the environment and pollution a major component in her classes, past the usual Earth Month conversations in April.

“If we all just pick up a piece of garbage, it can really change the environment.”

Take Pride Winnipeg completed a citywide litter index at the beginning of the month, which found streets and neighbourhoods to be cleaner than they were in April.

“What I’ve seen this year is a more concerted effort by people. I just think right now we are looking really, really, really good,” said Tom Ethans, executive director of the organization.

“We can still use help. We’re not perfect, but we’re looking a lot better.”

While the overall amount of litter has gone down, Take Pride Winnipeg still found problem areas where litter was still spilling over. Ethans said the areas around Empress Street, Oakpoint, and Killarney Avenue were the worst spots around the city.

Fast-food cups, shopping carts and needles were the most frequent types of litter found when cleaning up, Ethans said.

More than 100 business and community groups, along with 58 schools, conducted cleanups around the city from April to June, as per Take Pride Winnipeg statistics.

David Pensato, executive director of the Exchange District BIZ, said the litter problem has improved overall, but maintenance crews are still picking up higher volumes of it than pre-pandemic.

Since January, the BIZ has picked up in excess of 8,500 gallons of litter from transit shelters and the wider downtown neighbourhood.

The Biz had its latest community cleanup in April.

“People are always willing to help out and we’re looking at adding another couple of community cleanups,” said Pensato.

If more people took care to dispose of their trash, Winnipeg could be a healthier, safer, and cleaner place.

matthew.frank@freepress.mb.ca