Earth Day Marked By City-Wide Cleanup & Tree Plantings
Posted April 22, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Earth Day’s supposed to be the day that we all do our part for the environment, and here at Citytv we’re no exception.
That’s why as thousands of Torontonians converged on streets and parks to take part in a city-wide cleanup Sunday, some of us were also in the crowds getting our hands dirty.
This was particularly the case down by Lake Ontario, where the Citytv Clean Team hit Sunnyside Park Sunday afternoon.
“I think it’s important to take ownership of the community that you live in,” said Citytv employee Ashleigh Smollet.
“You’re less likely to abuse it if you can take ownership and feel a sense of pride.”
But as far as Sunnyside Park was concerned, we were pleasantly surprised to find a lot of the work had already been done.
“There wasn’t a whole bunch of garbage all over,” beamed another Citytver Deborah Creatura.
“I think it’s just an indication that Earth Day did happen and people went out and cleaned up.”
Of course you don’t have to wait for Earth Day to take care of the environment and your community, doing simple things like picking up a little trash here and there and not littering in the first place can make all the difference in the world.
Obviously the folks in and around Sunnyside have gotten the message, because the near-spotless park was filled with people enjoying it on one of the most beautiful April Sundays in memory.
“It’s remarkable,” exclaimed a man named Ryan, out enjoying the gorgeous afternoon.
“We were here last year about this time and it was a mess … somebody’s doing something in this city.”
People were also doing things around the city, and in Markham’s Rouge Park, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty joined with a massive crowd to plant trees.
Organizers at the planting said it was the largest one-day event of its kind in Canada and it included more than 2,000 volunteers putting close to 5,000 new roots along the Rouge watershed .
Since 1990, more than 120,000 trees have been planted in the area, which is exactly the sort of effort the premier likes to see.
“We have a responsibility as well to help beautify our urban areas and to do something that combats global warming,” McGuinty said.
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