As a light rain covered the North Coast, representatives from Pacific NorthWest LNG and youth from the Friendship House pitched in to make it a cleaner place.
The two organizations came together for a shoreline cleanup at Galloway Rapids on the morning of Aug. 26, something Pacific NorthWest LNG community relations advisor Derek Baker said was an identified need in the community.
“Through part of our community consultations we heard that there was an area near Galloway Rapids that was in desperate need of some cleanup so we struck a partnership with the Friendship House to come and clean it up,” he said, pointing to a dumpster filled with everything from toys and burned wood to a full-sized freezer.
“It’s something that we try to do every year because we like to give back to the community … we believe that if the kids start doing these kind of things they connect with the community and have more ownership of what they do in town so it is always good to have them do something like this,” added Friendship House youth inclusion coordinator Vincent Sampare.
Todd Barton was one of the youth volunteering their time for the cleanup and said projects like this one are important to be involved in.
“It’s showing the world that we care. As we pick up more there is less here and after it is all cleaned it feels better to be here,” he said.
“I didn’t expect there to be that much garbage.”
This was the first shoreline cleanup for the two groups, but both Baker and Sampare say it is unlikely to be the last.
“This is absolutely an ongoing commitment of Pacific NorthWest LNG. We want to be good stewards of the environment and be good community citizens as well. This will certainly not be the last thing you see us do … I am sure there are other places in town that could be similar in nature and it’s something we will definitely consider in the future,” said Baker.
