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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, April 23, 2015 | 4 Lots of ways to participate in Earth Week in Oakville by Ian Holroyd Oakville Beaver Staff Oakville is once again going to be busy this week for Earth Week (April 20-26), marking the yearly campaign with environmental activities for the whole family. The Town of Oakville is encouraging individuals, students, businesses and groups to come together for its annual Clean Sweep initiative. On Friday (April 24), residents are invited to take 20 minutes out of their day to pick up litter around neighbourhoods, schools, businesses, community centres and parks. The Town will provide complimentary work gloves and garbage bags, with garbage pick-up provided for registered participants. To register, go to https://securepwa.oakville.ca/Forms/ eForms/Cleansweep.aspx. The Town asks that Clean Sweepers use the clearly marked GLAD garbage bags to collect the litter. Halton Region will collect those bags free of charge above the three-bag limit. People are also invited to post their Clean Sweep pictures online to the Town of Oakville's Facebook and Twitter pages for a chance to win a gift basket. On Saturday (April 25), the 24th annual Earth Week Clean Up of nature sites in town will take place from 9-11 a.m. The event is organized by the Oakville Community Centre for Peace, Ecology and Students clean up during last year's Oakville Clean Sweep event at Montclair Public School. | Oakville Beaver file photo Human Rights (OCCPEHR) and is sponsored by the Town of Oakville Parks and Open Space Department, providing work gloves and garbage bags for registered groups. "It is easy to set up a new location in your neighbourhood and gain the support of a few others to help clean up a park, trail, ravine, green space, woodlot or lakefront where you live," said Stephen Dankowich, OCCPEHR executive director. "Individual citizens, families, students, clubs, not-for-profit groups and business organizations can set up a new clean-up location." Locations can be set up by emailing info@ oakvillepeacecentre.org. Thirty clean-up sites have already been confirmed for this year's event. New coordinators are also being sought for specific neighbourhoods, including new development around Dundas Street, Coronation Park and Petro Canada Park in the southwest, Lancaster Woods, and trails around the Glen Abbey and River Oaks Recreation Centres, Winston Woods and Iroquois Shoreline Woods at Upper Middle Road and Grand Boulevard. "This annual event is the largest communitywide clean up in Canada during Earth Week (with) 74,500 students and citizens hav(ing) participated since 1992," said OCCPEHR board member Don Meade. "The clean-up campaign promotes awareness and respect for biodiversity, local nature and our trails, parks and waterways. We are beautifying the local natural environment, protecting wildlife and benefiting people's health while doing our best to encourage environmental activism in our schools and community." For more information, contact OCCPEHR at 905-849-5501, info@oakvillepeacecentre. org or visit www.oakvillepeacecentre.org. On Sunday (April 26), Project AWARE will be holding a Dive Against Debris event at Coronation Park, east parking lot, from 10 a.m.-2 p..m. Residents are asked to participate in a waterfront cleanup in an effort to protect the underwater environment. For the story, see p. 23 Voted the Best in Oakville We Invite you to find out why! Call today for your personal tour. We'd love to have you join us! Retirement Living 380 Sherin Drive, Oakville, Ontario (905) 847-1413 www.vistamere.ca At Its Best