Join us to Clean the Beach!
In response to our recent call-out for new volunteers and our Virtual Open House, we heard from several new volunteers – yay! One of them is Martin Matthews, a relatively new Kamloopsian who is keen on supporting several projects, including the City of Kamloops’ Clean the Beach event. Martin explains why removing debris from our riverbanks is important to him:
We live in an extraordinary setting in Kamloops and should do whatever we can to preserve the health of our two great waterways. They define our area and make Kamloops possible.
The organization River Cleanup initially inspired me to look up Transition Kamloops. They do great work around the world, and only started 10 years ago with the founder “plogging” one day, (Picking up litter while jogging) I “plalk” in my neighbourhood, and try to inspire others to do the same.
I was also inspired by the work of Robert Macfarlane who wrote “Is a River Alive?”, who had an epiphany concerning them and like many indigenous populations, considers them to be living beings. Large rivers are really rare, so we should care for them better. I hope in the future, we can marshal a large contingent to help clean our rivers.
Thanks for submitting that, Martin! We look forward to seeing you and many others at the Clean the Beach event as we do our part to keep local riverbanks clean and beautiful! If you are able to come, please stop by our booth and say hello.
Clean the Beach, an initiative of the City of Kamloops, is happening on Sunday, April 19 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. Pre-registration is optional.
On arrival, volunteers will receive collection materials, route maps, and instructions on safe handling procedures for items like glass, sharps, or hazardous waste. It is recommended that volunteers wear closed-toed shoes and bring high-visibility vests and/or work gloves if they have them.
Volunteers returning to Riverside Park at the end of the cleanup ware invited to join a volunteer BBQ to acknowledge and celebrate the collective effort to clean our beaches. The event will also feature educational tables, enriching the community’s understanding of local ecology and the importance of maintaining clean and healthy waterways. Residents, regardless of volunteer participation, are invited to attend this portion of the event.
PS: For keen readers, Martin points out that Robert Macfarlane, in an interview in Scientific American, recommended four other books:
- Monica Freida-Tinta’s “A Barrister for the Earth”
- Merlin Sheldrake’s “Entangled Life”
- Elif Shafak’s “There are Rivers in the Sky” and
- Moudhy Al-Rashid’s “Between Two Rivers”
Photo by Brian Yurasits on Unsplash
Transition Kamloops
Transition Kamloops is a volunteer-driven, registered not-for-profit society focused on increasing local resilience and self-sufficiency in food, water, energy, culture and wellness. We emphasize a local economy, healthy ecosystems, and grassroots community building, while reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. We believe in a better way: a community that sustains life in all its diversity, strives for equality and justice and invests in the future.
Transition Kamloops recognizes that we are living on Secwépemcul’ecw—land that was never ceded to settlers, and continues to be home to vibrant Indigenous cultures, languages, and traditions. We acknowledge the impact of colonization, forced displacement, and ongoing struggles faced by Indigenous peoples. We commit to listening, learning, and building positive relationships with Indigenous communities as we work towards reconciliation.
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