Fraser Riverkeeper’s Annual Earth Day Cleanup at Pegleg Gravel Bar, Chilliwack
Fraser Riverkeeper, in partnership with Woodtone, the City of Chilliwack, Rotz Disposal, and other friends of the Fraser River, cleaned up Pegleg Gravel Bar in Chilliwack on Sunday, April 18th, to honor Earth Day.
The event was focused on beautifying and restoring the riverbed at Pegleg Bar while increasing community participation in environmental stewardship and awareness of the significance of these gravel bars to local flora and fauna as well to local residents and community groups who appreciate their value.
Pegleg Bar provides easy access to the Fraser River for recreation fishing, and is one of the more popular and productive bars for fishing without a boat. Bar fishing the Fraser River is a great way to appreciate the river and all it has to offer, providing prime gathering spots for socializing in the great outdoors. Unfortunately, such easy access to the “Mighty” Fraser River has resulted in the accumulation of various types of garbage, from aluminum cans to couches.
We want to thank everyone for coming out to Chilliwack on such a beautiful day this year. We collected nearly 7 tonnes of trash, including 1.5 tonnes of scrap metals, from around the bar. Special thanks go to our volunteers Jami Questa and Kristen Sivertz for leading the children’s corner with face-painting and salmon activities as well as Maheen Javed for her development of the kids corner project. We want to thank Woodtone, The Young Foundation, City of Chilliwack, Andy Rotz, Waste Services Inc., Fortin’s Home Hardware, Preserved Seed Café, Valley Tank, United Tool Rental, Chilliwack Water Store, Pro-Fab Manufacturing, Watson Gloves, and Tim Horton’s for providing services and in-kind donations. We’d also like to thank the press that showed up to find out more about this event and help create awareness in the Fraser River communities: Hawk FM, Valley Voice Online News, and Shaw T.V. Thanks to all the wonderful volunteers who donated their time and services.
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- A beautiful day for a cleanup
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- Kristen’s salmon
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- These boys found an interesting partial skeleton of something!
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- Kristen did a fabulous job with face-painting!
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- Fencing and bed springs — a lot of metal found on the bar
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- We had two bins; this one had non-metal litter
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- Thanks to those with pickups and trailers for getting the heavy stuff!
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- Jami Questa and Kristen Sivertz leading a children’s corner
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- Woodtone and FRK tents
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- Board member Michael Chapman, Riverkeeper Doug Chapman, and Executive Director Lauren Hornor
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- Someone found an entire sofa at the bar
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- Part of the crew (at the end), with Kathy from RBC’s Blue Water Fund presenting Fraser Riverkeeper with a grant for a new project later this year
