Park clean-up a chance to meet neighbours
Neighbours pitch in at last year’s spring clean-up at Glebe Memorial Park: Left to right: Lady Calamity (Iain), Anne and Darren Boomer with children Julia and Lauren Photo: Angus McCabe
Park clean-up a chance to meet neighbours
By Angus McCabe
Imagine a beautiful, sunny May morning in the Glebe.
It’s 10 a.m. on the day of the Spring Clean Up of the park near you. Children, their parents, grandparents and folks from the neighbourhood begin streaming in. You’ve helped spread the word – a flyer your kids delivered to mailboxes the week before, or maybe by more modern means – and the turnout is pretty good!
Many are people you already know through the kids’ school, sports, GNAG and various other community activities. Some are people you’ve never met because they’re new to the Glebe or don’t have the same opportunities in the neighbourhood to connect. All hold the promise of being new or renewed friends and acquaintances thanks to the laughs and the hour or so of work you anticipate will be shared together this morning.
Participants have brought along their rakes, work gloves, a container (like a sealable jar) and a few smaller, compostable bags to help consolidate (and safely store) any garbage you find into one garbage bag’s worth (or hopefully much less to minimize your use of larger single-use plastic bags).
The job itself is taking no more than that one hour you had expected. Turns out the park is in pretty good shape, and many hands are making light work.
The main goal is to pick up litter. A couple of parents also rake the sand beneath the swings and other play structures to make sure they are free of anything sharp and dangerous going into this new season of play. Wearing their gloves, they carefully remove these items, safely containing them in the sealable glass jar they brought along, just in case.
You generally “leave the leaves,” letting nature do that heavy lifting for you while it fertilizes the grass. They may also provide great habitats for pollinators and other wildlife this spring. However, when crew members notice patches where the leaves are really wet and threatening to smother the grass longing for sunlight, they may decide to rake and bag them.
Play, conversation and laughs ensue, lasting well beyond the final piece of garbage being picked up.
And maybe this day of gathering together has just begun. One of your crew has a bigger backyard and has planned a BBQ at their place for later. The afternoon makes its weekend transition to another Happy Hour, where more than a few people from the morning show up again.
When it’s all over, you look back at your Saturday. You’ve all done a little bit to do your part. And you’ve further demonstrated to the kids how fun simple acts of community service can be.
Perhaps this is the year a neighbourhood tradition is born or renewed. And given your children are just getting started, this one may catch on with your cohort of parents and neighbours for a good decade of springs to come.
As we say goodbye to the many outdoor joys of our winter city and neighbourhood (our volunteer-maintained ice rinks and parks), we once again renew our spring efforts to keep the Glebe’s 13 beautiful city parks safe, clean, green, healthyand fun for residents young and old.
The Glebe Community Association’s annual park clean-ups, part of the City of Ottawa’s Spring Cleaning the Capital program, will take place this year on Saturday, May 2 starting at 10 a.m. (pouring rain date: Sunday, May 3). The Glebe Annex Community Association will be leading the cleanup of the Dalhousie South Park on the same date.
Above is a listing of GCA Parks Committee contacts who plan to be on hand at the parks that morning. Always feel free to contact us at parks@glebeca.ca to get involved.
Note re: garbage collection: Bring your cleanup garbage home whenever possible. If you have collected large quantities of waste or litter, please leave it all at the cleanup project site and follow the instructions on ottawa.ca/clean to request on-site garbage pickup.
Angus McCabe is the chair of the GCA Parks Committee.