May 07, 2019 (Toronto, ON) – Just a friendly reminder that our 19th annual forest clean up event will be taking place this Saturday at E.T. Seton Park from 10am-1pm. We are thrilled we can actually see earth in areas that once had thousands of pounds of waste.

As noted earlier we think THIS might be the year we actually reach the top of the ravine and have a clean-sweep! (at least in this one area). The community of volunteers and trail users have been great! Can we hit the 50,000 pound all-time total this year?!

Note, the valley wall in the area we will focus on is fairly steep. Lets go slow, be safe.

We think if we get between 100-200 volunteers it will be great! We never know how many are coming (although this year 2.4 thousand people have indicated interest on our Facebook page and 410 have indicated to us they will be attending….eeh gads!). We think with an expected attrition rate of 50% we should be good. We have eased up promoting the event.

Note – EVENT WILL BE CANCELLED IF RAINING (we never use the Don trails when they are wet)

Q&A – Clean Up Event

· What do I wear? – Anything you like, but we suggest bringing a pair of BOOTS (ravine is steep and can get dirty). Sun block and bug spray might be good ideas as well.
· Will free water in plastic water bottles be available? (like in the past) – No, please bring your own water in reusable container. Why? – Plastics in our environment are a real concern. Lets reduce.
· Do I need to register? No. Just show up and grab a bag . We did set up an Everbright free registration system late in the game (hit capacity overnight) but welcome drop-ins this year. Although with the increase in interest this is something that should be reviewed moving forward.
· Will the BBQ have veggie/halal options? – Yes. (Sorry, we realized a bit late this event is taking place during Ramadan)
· Will gloves and bags be provided? – Yes, we will have a limited number of gloves. Please bring a pair if you have any.
· Can high school students get volunteer forms signed? – Yes, just have them look for anyone wearing a yellow vest (lead volunteer) at the BBQ (not during the clean up please)
· Washroom facilities? – No, If needed you would need to visit mall off Thorncliffe Road (we will check to see if park bathroom facility in park can be opened but may be too early in season)
· If biking, can I leave my bike somewhere? – Yes, we will have a supervised bike daycare area J
· Is this a grass roots event with 100% volunteers (like you) just wanting to pull a bit of trash and therefore may be a bit un-organized? – Absolutely, but lets have fun, enjoy the forest and pull out a bit of litter.