Pitch-In Week will go ahead this year but with appropriate distancing safeguards owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We want everyone to practice physical distancing and wear protective disposable hand protection. If you have a garbage picking stick, we encourage you to use it,” indicated Houston and District Chamber of Commerce executive director Maureen Czirfusz in announcing details of Pitch-In Week which is April 19-26.
She’s asking individuals or family members living in the same household to register by calling the chamber office at 250-845-7640.
Those registering will then be assigned an area, date and time to participate.
“We have a supply of garbage bags that you will be able to pick up at the office, keeping physical distancing in place at the time of pick up,” Czirfusz added.
“You will also be told where you can take the garbage once you are done cleaning your area. We are asking all of Houston to do their part and clean up the community.”
This is the 59th year that Houston will take part in Pitch-In Week.
For its part, the A Rocha Buck Creek fish hatchery is again organizing a clean up along the creek banks.
A Rocha Houston coordinator Cindy Verbeek says it is looking for six families who are self-isolating to each clean up a section of the creek with April 22 as a target date for the activity.
“We’ll be getting gloves and bags and distribute them safely for the families,” she said.
The protective wear will be important given what the families will encounter, Verbeek said.
“We don’t know what’s in that garbage,” she added of what is typically strewn along the banks — mostly junk food and other food wrappers.
Verbeek said the six sections to be cleaned up consist of approximately the same area patrolled each year.
She doesn’t anticipate any difficulty in finding six families and is requesting interested persons to contact her through Facebook — UBRStreamkeepers.
This will be the seventh year A Rocha has organized the creek cleanup.
