How It Works
Powered by Canadians, this program allows people from all regions and all walks of life to make a positive difference to their environment. Since 2003, more than 180,000 Canadians registered to clean up just 6,807 km of shorelines. Together, they have removed 365,427 kg of litter from Canada's shorelines. Participants are encouraged to register to clean up a specific site in advance, but some Site Coordinators have left their events open to people wanting to drop in to participate.
Year-round staff work out of the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park and a satellite office in Toronto, Ontario. Participants can choose from a past list of shoreline sites or they can add a new shoreline to the database. Eligible shorelines are areas where land meets water, which include but are not limited to oceans, rivers, lakes, streams, ponds and wetlands.
The program typically runs the third week every September; early registration is highly recommended as preferred shoreline sites are usually claimed by returning Site Coordinators early. Registration to be a Site Coordinator runs from Spring until September. Participants wanting to join a cleanup are welcome to register up until the day of the event.
With the support of Year of Science, the Vancouver Foundation and SAP Canada, the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup piloted spring shoreline cleanups in May 2011 only for schools in BC. These spring cleanups provided educators the opportunity to facilitate cleanups to compliment new lesson plans developed by the Vancouver Aquarium. These lesson plans support the Prescribed Learning Outcomes of the BC Ministry of Education's Integrated Resource Packages (IRPs).
In 2012, this Spring Educational Program is expanding into Ontario, with an additional curriculum guide containing lesson plans developed for schools in Ontario. A Youth Site Coordinator Manual has also been developed to help secondary students gain valuable skills in team work, promotions, event planning and leadership while organizing a shoreline cleanup. All educational resources are made available free of charge.
Read more about this topic: Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup
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“His works are not to be studied, but read with a swift satisfaction. Their flavor and gust is like what poets tell of the froth of wine, which can only be tasted once and hastily.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)