Pitching in on Earth Day

St. Vital

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This article was published 31/05/2023 (1078 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Members of a local group of fitness enthusiasts recently proved they’re as dexterous with their hands as with their legs.

To mark Earth Day last month, members of the St. Vital-based Rising Runners met at St. Vital Park to undertake their sixth annual litter cleanup event on the Awasisak Meskanow (formerly Bishop Grandin) greenway trail.

According to organizers, the group does an annual cleanup in both the spring and the fall. In an email statement, 13-year-old group member and cleanup participant Delphina Ragavi Noel described the event and what it meant to her to take part.

“Being a teenager, it was shocking to see all that garbage on such a small section of a trail. Today, this is not the only problem in our world. We are experiencing climate change, water pollution, unsafe drinking water in some parts of the world — the list could go on,” Noel said.

“More people need to turn their eyes over to these growing problems. We need to accept that our Earth is in danger, that if we do not start now, we may not have a healthy home. I am not the perfect person, but I will try, and I hope others will, too. To start by doing little things may be enough if everyone tries. I wish for people to educate themselves about our Earth and its current state, to see what small things they can do that will go a long way.”

Noel noted that the day started with a land acknowledgment, a group briefing, and a chat about Earth Day. The group was then divided into four sub-groups to cover four assigned sections of the trail, with at least eight individuals responsible for cleaning each one. The teen, along with her mother and sisters, were assigned to the Lagimodiere Boulevard and Fermor Avenue section of the trail, and later went to help another group located near St. Mary’s Road and Dakota Street.

“Cleaning our earth by picking up litter is our starting point,” Noel added. “Doing this has really helped me see a new side of things — that if I want something to happen, I need to be the one to do it. Next time, I will not complain about the cold or how early it is because of what I now know, and I hope you will join us in cleaning up our earth one piece of trash at a time.”