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Earth Day – Rattlesnake Point Clean-up 2008
The first of the Ontario Access Coalition’s (OAC) Earth Day crag clean-ups happened this past weekend at Rattlesnake Point. The day was HUGE success with well over 100 people in attendance! The clean-up was split between three crags: Buffalo Crag, Bottle Glass Crag, and Rattlesnake Point. The first people to arrive in the morning were organized into teams and headed to Buffalo Crag. Almost immediately after the Buffalo Crag teams had departed, there was another large group of eager volunteers who were dispatched to the Bottle Glass Crag.
The final, and largest, group of volunteers was directed to Rattlesnake Point. When all was said and done, over 100 bags of garbage (including refuse and recyclable materials) were brought out of the three crags to the trail heads and parking lots where the garbage was sorted and taken away by the Halton Conservation Authorities.
After the clean-up portion of the day, all volunteers were treated to a great BBQ lunch at the upper pavilion! All volunteers were encouraged to bring their own dishes and utensils to minimize the use of disposables. Cleaning bins were provided along with environmentally friendly cleaning solutions. By the time people had finished, over 120 burgers, 40 vegi-burgers and 40 hot-dogs had been cooked and consumed!
Once lunch had wrapped up, it was time for FREE STUFF! As always, the prize giveaways were a huge hit! Our event sponsors were:
Mountain Equipment Co-op – http://www.mec.ca
Joe Rockheads - http://www.joerockheads.com
Beta Clothing - http://www.betaclothing.ca
Rock Oasis - http://www.rockoasis.com
Gripped Magazine - http://www.gripped.com
Outdoors Oriented - http://www.outdoorsoriented.com
ACC- Toronto Section - http://www.climbers.org
Adventure Guide - http://www.advguide.com
Halton Region - http://www.conservationhalton.on.ca
Of Rock and Chalk - http://www.rockandcalk.com
Webco - http://www.webcosports.ca
Nature Clean – http://www.franktross.com
Afterwards, Ron Kindt, the park manager, spoke briefly about the continued partnership between the climbing community and the Halton Region Conservation Authority (HRCA). He also updated the volunteers about the continuation of the Halton Bolting Project; a joint venture between the HRCA and the OAC.
These types of events take serious planning and could not be done without people selflessly donating their spare time so there are a couple of “Thanks Yous” which are in order. First, we would like to thank the Alpine Club of Canada (ACC) – Toronto Section for their continued support in matters of access. Secondly, a big thanks to the HRCA and we look forward to our continued relationship! A special THANKS to Andrew McBurney who has put in countless hours ensuring this event ran to perfection (I hear he even beat Mother Nature in an arm-wrestle to ensure a sunny day…) and to Harry Hoediono, who donated his time to administer a top-roping demonstration. Finally, we would like to extend a HUGE thanks to all of the volunteers who came out! We hope you enjoyed yourself and hope that some of you are able to attend our second clean-up happening on May 3rd, 2008 at Eugenia Falls.
Adam & Tony
Co-Chairs
Ontario Access Coalition
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[Ontario] Earth Day cleanup 2008!
