Great Wilderness Clean-Up Final Tally

• Posted on June 2, 2008 at 4:32 PM
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The total tally is in. Nancy Maddock (head organizer for the Great Wilderness Clean-Up 2008 project) is in. What an amazing event. Have a good look at how other places, including Brazil, US and the UK, contributed this year. This volunteer event started off just a few years ago with a bunch of paddlers - led by Nancy - cleaning up Algonquin park. Wow!

The winners for this year will be announced soon.

Total Results

CANADA

Number of Groups - 13 (all in Ontario) Number of Volunteers - 89++ Number of Bags of Garbage - 59 large++, 53 park-size Locations - Serpentine Route, Crab Lake, Algonquin Park (trails, Little Doe & Tom Thompson Lakes, Sunday Creek, White Partridge Lake), Wabakimi, Eels Creek, O’Brien’s Bridge at Moira River, Toronto Harbour, Killarney Park (Grace & Nellie Lakes), Obabika Lake (Temagami) Other Items - electrical tape, old bottles from Rangers about 50 years old, tires (one filled with cement), a Christmas decoration, shoes & socks (always an odd number!), scrap metal, skid plate from a truck’s gas tank, tape measure, propane tanks & canisters, a set of pots & pans.

Breakdown Into Groups

Kawartha Brigade Location - Serpentine Route, Kawarthas Number of Volunteers - 6 Number of Bags of Garbage - 14 Other Items Found - a road pylon, chair frames, old rusty grills, large piece of Styrofoam, pail filled with garbage

The Wolf Pack Location - The Wolf Den, Algonquin Number of Volunteers - 30+ Number of Bags of Garbage - 26 park-size of garbage, 23 park-size of recycling Other Items Found - bunch of old metal, tire filled with cement, skid plate from a truck’s gas tank, the tape from a tape measure, propane tanks & canisters, a set of pots & pans

Wabakimi Project Location - Wabakimi Number of Volunteers – unknown (still ongoing) Number of Bags of Garbage – unknown (still ongoing)

Scudz Location - Eels Creek Number of Volunteers - 2 Number of Bags of Garbage - 2 Other Items Found - 5 shoes

1st Milton Venturers Location - Crab Lake Number of Volunteers - not reported Number of Bags of Garbage - 1

Quinte Paddlers & Hikers Location - O’Brien’s Bridge at Moira River Number of Volunteers - 3 Number of Bags of Garbage - 4 Other Items Found - 3 tires, a Christmas decoration

Killer Bees Location - Little Doe & Tom Thompson Lakes, APP Number of Volunteers - 4 Number of Bags of Garbage - 4 park-size Other Items Found - lots of socks, oven mitt, hats

Molly & the Mermaids Location - Toronto Harbour Number of Volunteers - 6 Number of Bags of Garbage - 6

Aquatic Park Sailing Club Location - Toronto Harbour area Number of Volunteers - 20+ Number of Bags of Garbage - 20+

Pick Up Artists Location - Sunday Creek, APP Number of Volunteers - 9 Number of Bags of Garbage - less than 1 Other Items Found - old Nalgene bottle

Ghoslo Location - Grace & Nellie Lakes, Killarney Number of Volunteers - 2 Number of Bags of Garbage - unknown, but found very little Other Items Found - discovery of the ruins of an old maple syrup operation (other than the one they knew was already there) with 2 buildings, several old wood stoves (patented 1883), barrel hoops, saw blades and sleigh runners. They left everything intact.

Members of Friends of Temagami (make sure to say “members of FOT”) Location - Ranger Point, Obabika Lake Number of Volunteers - 5 Number of Bags of Garbage - 10+ (a lot of old bottles about 50 years old)

BoKnows Location - White Partridge, APP Number of Volunteers - 2 Number of Bags of Garbage - 1 or less Other Items Found - electrical tape

USA

Number of Groups - 2 (short notice for new leader, Greg ‘Bo’ Bowers) Number of Volunteers - 5 Number of Bags of Garbage - 5 Locations - Red River Gorge, Rock Island Trail (Illinois) Other Items - metal mattress frame, sheet metal roofing, a sheet of wood, real estate signs, an actual pair of sandals, 1 shoe

Breakdown Into Groups

Bo Bowers Location - Red River Gorge Trail, Kentucky Number of Volunteers - 2 Number of Bags of Garbage - less than 1

Anselmo & Company Location - Rock Island Trail, Illinois Number of Volunteers - 4 Number of Bags of Garbage - 4 Other Items Found - metal mattress frame, a large piece of metal roofing, a sheet of wood, real estate signs (ads), 2 sandals, 1 running shoe, fertilizer bags

UK

Number of Groups - 9 Number of Volunteers - 67 Number of Bags of Garbage - 43+ Locations - Castle Semple Loch, Union Canal (Rathlo-Linns Mill), Basingstoke Canal, Buckie, Chichester Canal, Medway, River Beult, Grand Union Canal Other Items - real estate signs, light bulbs, sports bottles, polystyrene cups, umbrella, top of a washing machine, part of a vacuum cleaner, whole vacuum cleaner, football, 6 tires, 15 golf balls, several traffic cones, front bumper of a car, car seat, TV, clothing items (some of a “delicate nature”), 15’ length of an 8” in diameter red flexible pipe, box of unused condoms, fish hooks & lines, a “Winnie the Poo” ball, motorcycle, toilet (hey, another one!), 20 dead fish, dead rabbit, dead cat in a plastic bag (very sad), garbage bags dumped over a river fence when there is a local dump less than 1/2 mile away.

Breakdown Into Groups

Poledancer & Company Location - Union Canal (Rathlo-Linns Mill) Number of Volunteers - 4 Number of Bags of Garbage - 4 Other Items Found - a sign, light bulbs, Lucozade sports bottles, polystyrene cups, umbrella, top of a washing machine, part of a Hoover vacuum cleaner, large tire + wheel, football

MagiKelly & Company Location - Castle Semple Loch Number of Volunteers - 8 Number of Bags of Garbage - 8 (within 20 minutes) Other Items Found - 5 tires, front bumper of a car, 2 signs, 2 traffic cones, car seat, road bollard, vacuum cleaner, 15+ golf balls

KeithD & Company Location - Basingstoke Canal Number of Volunteers - 7 Number of Bags of Garbage - guessing at 4-5 Other Items Found - several road cones, TV, clothing “of a delicate nature”, 15 foot length of 8” diameter red flexible pipe, complete box of unused condoms

Chrish Location - Buckie Number of Volunteers - 2 Number of Bags of Garbage - 1

Bazbunny & Company Location - Chichester Canal Number of Volunteers - 12 Number of Bags of Garbage - 2 (that I saw in picture) Other Items Found - “undesirable objects”, fishing hooks & lines, ‘Winnie the Poo’ ball, dead rabbit

Medway Paddlers (Wayne Jones-UK leader) and Group of Scouts (2 groups into 1) Location - River Medway - River Beult cleanup by Scouts Number of Volunteers - 2 groups together -- 26 people (including a group of Scouts), 4 dogs, 15 canoes Number of Bags of Garbage - 15 Other Items Found - motorcycle, toilet seat

MacK & Company Location - Union Canal Mini Cleanup Number of Volunteers - 6 Number of Bags of Garbage - unknown

DanDan & Company Location - Grand Union Canal (Slough arm) Number of Volunteers - 2 Number of Bags of Garbage - 6 (could have filled more) Other Items Found - 20 dead fish, dead cat in a bag, pile of garbage tossed over the fence near a “travellers’ site”

BRAZIL

Number of Groups - 3 Number of Volunteers - 134 Number of Bags of Garbage - 61+++++ Locations - Itapetininga River, Ipatinga, Taubate Other Items - deodorant cans, pesticide bottle (by law it has to be returned to the seller), lots of sandals (hey it’s hotter in Brazil), paint cans, car parts, plastic chairs, metal buckets

Breakdown Into Groups

Tony Carlos Osse & Company Location - Itapetininga River Number of Volunteers - 50+ Number of Bags of Garbage - 49 Other Items Found - deodorant cans, a pesitcide bottle (by law must be returned to the seller), lots of sandals (it’s warm in Brazil!), paint cans, plastic chairs, metal buckets

Special Mention - Tony & company were greeted in the town of Campina do Monte Alegre on Friday by 50 ladies of the Third Age Walking group, holding signs of The Great Wilderness Cleanup in Portuguese. There were dancers dressed in costume, too (not sure if this was before or after the cleanup). They walked with Tony to the first school, where about 100 students were waiting outside front of the school. They were then given a tour of the school, class by class. Tony spoke to 2 different groups of students at 2 schools on Friday, May 9th, 2008 - more than a total of 500 students! The students were very involved in the learning experience as the teachers were talking to them about it for a week before the event. A small garbage truck was needed to haul it away. Part of it was moved to the city central square. The garbage was sold to a recycling business in the city for “a symbolical price”. Tony also talked with the Mayor.