Litter Clean Up – Downtown Langford

Thank you so much Greater Victoria Green Team participants for your hard work and enthusiasm:

Ali, Ania, Colby, Fiona, Jordan, Juliana, Kara, Keith, Kiersten, Kimberley, Joseph, Linus, Maggie, Maricela, Mark, Miranda, Neil, Sherry, Sungjin, Taryn, Wayne, Youssef, Youssef Jr., and Yumi!

What a fun day we had connecting people to one another and nature, all while collecting litter to keep it out of waterways and away from wildlife! Keep on reading to find impacts, highlights and more from the day…

Impacts

  • 24 community members engaged
  • 73 hours contributed to cleaning up our community
  • 7 people visited this part of Langford for the first time
  • 17 people participated in their very first litter clean up on this day!
  • 31 pounds of litter (the weight of a beagle!) was removed from the sides of streets, along sidewalks and green spaces in downtown Langford
  • 2,182 square metres of sidewalks and green spaces along the sides of the road was cleaned up thanks to the hard work of everyone participating
  • We found an interesting variety of items including pieces of clothing, food wrappers, plastic bags, and the most common piece of litter: cigarette butts 

Litter Collected

  • 3,300 cigarette butts 
  • 400 food wrappers
  • 316 pieces of paper and cardboard
  • 124 plastic bags 
  • 101 cups and lids  
  • 24 pieces of metal
  • 22 bottles / cans
  • 2 pieces of clothing 

Additional items found: dental flossers, cellophane, pieces of caution tape, bagged dog poo, half a shoelace, insert for a shoe, pieces of homework, electronic cigarette, glow stick, false nails, stickers, hair tie, chair leg, band aid, lighter, rubber glove, medical mask, plastic straws

Highlights

  • This was our third litter clean up activity in partnership with the City of Langford Engineering Department!
  • We collected the most cigarette butts at this activity compared to all our other litter clean ups! 
  • It was a gorgeous sunny day and the energy of these community members was so bright!
  • Our Litter Leaders, Juliana, Ania, and Linus helped lead community members along our routes and ensure everyone stayed safe: thank you for your help!  
  • We tracked what types of garbage we collected using an app created by one of our amazing community members, Chris! 
  • Community members Taryn, Joseph, Keith, Youssef, Kimberley, Kiersten, and Linus helped us with tracking our litter on our Litter Tracker App: thank you for your help!
  • A big thank you to City of Langford Councillors, Keith Yacucha, Kimberley Guiry, Mark Morley, and Colby Harder for joining us, showing your support for this activity, and engaging with the community!
  • Everyone loved the watermelon, oranges, homemade banana bread, veggies, and granola bars as a fun snack to keep energy levels up!
  • All ages, backgrounds, and experience levels were engaged including families, returning Green Team members, and first-timers!

What Community Members are Saying

Litter Leaders

GVGT Litter Leaders (left to right) Juliana, Linus, Ania, Kaitlin

Thank you so much to Juliana, Linus, and Ania for supporting this activity by helping to lead community members on our routes, keep them safe, record the day through photos and videos, and carry and distribute snacks for everyone! 

We really appreciate your support with making this activity smooth and safe! 

If you are interested in becoming a GVGT Litter Leader, please contact Kaitlin, Program Manager

Community Investment Partner

THANK YOU to the City of Langford Engineering Department for providing financial support and direction to guide this activity!

Together we are achieving our common goals and creating connected, healthy and resilient communities engaged in environmental stewardship.

In-Kind Support

Thank you to the fantastic Canadian, eco-friendly businesses Green Beaver and Honey Candles that donated in-kind products for our hard-working community members to take home!

Please contact Kaitlin Warren. if you are interested in providing in-kind.

Thank you to the  generous local business, Island Cleaning Supplies that helped us out by providing us with the litter pickers we needed to collect litter safely! 

 

Why We Do This Work

The Greater Victoria Green Team organizes hands-on educational activities that have a positive environmental impact to empower people. Through activities such as invasive plant removals, plantings, litter cleanups and more, we are fostering connections with others and nature so that health and well-being is prioritized, lifelong environmental stewardship is promoted, and community members are enabled to take care of themselves, each other and the places they live. We all have the power to make a difference!

We all experience mental and physical health benefits from spending time in nature, including reduced stress and anxiety, and improved mood, focus, memory and more. While doing so, we can also have a positive impact on the environment as demonstrated through this activity!

Staff Who Made This Activity Possible

Kaitlin (left), with community member Maggie (right)

Greater Victoria Green Team Program Manager, Kaitlin Warren works hard behind the scenes to bring these high-quality activities to you.

Partnership building, outreach, social media, activity logistics, leading on-the-ground, reporting on impacts and more – we can do it all!

Please contact Kaitlin if you have any questions about the Greater Victoria Green Team. 

 

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