By Mathew Del Papa
When Audrey Jean Wiebe walks the trails around Capreol, she picks up trash. She can’t help herself — there is just so much of it. If she didn’t pick up other people’s garbage she’d trip over it. Her daily haul amounts to a grocery bag worth of garbage. That’s one person in one day. And she does the same thing every day. Her friend, Susanne Alyward, has a similar routine. The two women are happy to help keep otheir town clean, but frustrated that the work is necessary.
“There’s a lot of beauty back there,” Wiebe said. She should know. She’s been cleaning the same section of trail for over twenty years. A decade back she began organizing clean ups of Capreol’s trails. The first, in 2003, saw three people turn out. The most recent, on June 1, 2012 (arranged with the help of Carol Brown) had thirty-five volunteers. Working in conjunction with the city of Greater Sudbury — and in the rain — they removed two large piles of garbage. Twenty minutes later they found trash dumped where they’d just cleaned.
The garbage ranges from empty coffee cups to household appliances. “All dumped without care,” Wiebe said. She worries for the health of children and pets on the trails. “Dumping is dangerous for walkers and wildlife.”
Commonly found items include cigarette packages, bottles, broken glass, batteries as well as nails and construction debris. Some of the more worrying items include tangles of fishing line, cans of paint, syringes, and large items like bedsprings and toilets. “The greenbelts in Capreol are disgusting,” she said. Which seems a shame since our town has so many trails. “It’s so peaceful. You can hear the birds. There’s a lot of beauty and wildlife.”
Decades of anti-littering campaigns — from the famous ‘crying Indian’ commercial of the 1950’s to Woodsy the owl’s 1970 memorable “Give a Hoot. Don’t pollute” and even the oft misunderstood but much repeated 1980’s “Don’t Mess with Texas” — have improved things. But there’s still plenty who haven’t got the message, especially in Capreol. People continue to dump their trash in the bush around town, ignoring both the law — it’s a $10,000 fine if caught — and common decency.
Recently Wiebe applied to the city and ‘adopted’ a stretch of trail. She did so to honour a friend. A sign at the trail’s start reads: ‘These lanes and trails have been adopted in Memory of Christine Webster, who loved walking them. Please help keep them clean & safe.’ Others are following her example — Alyward has adopted another series of trails and maintains them in Memory of Makenzie Rooney, who tragically lost her life while enjoying similar trails in September 2012. The two women hope to see others follow their lead, challenging all of Capreol to see who can get their green belt the cleanest. “Remember all trails are adoptable!”
‘We’re frustrated as heck," Wiebe said. "And would really like people to stop littering." That might not be much as far as rallying cries go, but it sums up the feeling of many Capreol residents. There’s no in your face here, just polite discourse … even when these litterers show nothing but ignorance and hostility. For those wanting to make a difference this year’s clean up is scheduled for Saturday, May 25. Or you could do like Wiebe and Alyward and bring a bag with you when you walk. Take a few minutes to clean up everyday and keep our town beautiful. Remember: Every litter bit helps.
