SNC Uses Online Media to Encourage People to Safely Clean-Up Their Communities for Official Provincial Day of Action on Litter
Last year Ontario announced May 12th, 2020, as the Official Day of Action on Litter to bring clean-up activities to schools, neighbourhoods and municipalities across the province, and with the last bit of snow finally gone, a winter’s worth of garbage accumulation is now revealed and ready to be picked up.
Typically, South Nation Conservation (SNC) organizes spring community clean-up events across its 4,446 square-kilometer jurisdiction in Eastern Ontario. But with physical distancing measures in place due to COVID-19, annual activities including river clean-ups and Cache-In-Trash-Out events have been cancelled for 2020.
The Conservation Authority is instead taking to social media to rally people behind cleaning up their own backyards and communities for the week using the provincial hashtag #ActONLitter.
To support the campaign, SNC is also sharing tips online on how to safely handle and dispose of trash, household hazardous waste, and share facts on garbage disposal.
“Getting outside and safely cleaning up your own backyards and neighbourhoods can be a great learning experience for the whole family,” explains John Mesman, SNC’s Communications Lead. “Social gatherings may be on pause but doing our part to protect the local environment doesn’t have to be.”
Litter can have a detrimental impact to humans, wildlife, and the environment, and can eventually end up contaminating local water sources, soil and pollute the air.
SNC has been maintaining its public Conservation Areas that remain open for passive recreational use, with crews visiting regularly to empty garbage bins and manage trails. The Conservation Authority is also gearing up for the eventual spring opening of its seasonally closed parks by cleaning and picking up litter left behind from last year.
You can take part in the #ActOnLitter campaign by following SNC on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SouthNationConservation, and on Twitter and Instagram at @SouthNationCA, and by posting pictures of you and your families picking up trash using the hashtag #ActOnLitter.
“To commemorate the Provincial Day of Action on Litter, we’re hoping people will join us online to share and learn about how they #ActOnLitter” added Mesman.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Taylor Campbell, Communications Specialist, 1-877-984-2948, tcampbell@nation.on.ca.
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