On June 11, more than 50 community volunteers from Waiporous, Cochrane and Calgary, along with Enviros Wilderness School and Ghost River Rediscovery, descended on the Ghost Public Land Use Zone for the first "Great Ghost Clean Up."
Over several hours we hauled more than 3,000 lbs of steel out of the bush for recycling (the leftovers from four burned-out trailers), along with filling a 40 cubic yard garbage bin. From dismantling impromptu shooting ranges made of old oil barrels and propane tanks, to picking up cigarette butts and random car parts (and everything in between), the amount of waste in the forest was staggering.
We'd like to thank everyone who came out and gave us a hand, along with Centrica Energy for donating the bin, TransAlta and Spray Lake Sawmills for feeding the volunteers, Enviros and Ghost River Rediscovery for providing trucks, trailers and staff hours, Alpine Precision Tree Services for the dump trailer and Sharon MacDonald for co-ordinating and communicating behind the scenes.
Stay tuned for a fall edition of the "Great Ghost Clean Up," and please ... if you find yourself enjoying that magical corner of the forest, leave it a little better than you found it.
Much appreciation,
Jeff Couillard (Enviros) and Adam Ross (Ghost River Rediscovery)
