Keep Vancouver Spectacular
Over 15,000 volunteers take part in the 2010 campaign
During the month of May a total of 15,700 volunteers from 135 groups came together to make the city an even better place to live and work . This year KVS celebrated its 15th year. Since its inception in 1996 when 1,500 volunteers signed up for the first campaign, tons of litter have been removed from Vancouver's streets, lanes and shorelines.
To recognize the program's anniversary and the accomplishments of its volunteers, KVS DAY, was held on May 26th. In the morning CityTV was on location at the Tourism Vancouver hosted cleanup event. The downtown clean up included the fourth annual KVS audit to find out what kind of litter was being left on our streets. That evening over a 100 Block Captains and volunteers came together at the VanCity Theatre on Seymour Street for the program's wrap up event. Long-time KVS sponsor Peake of Catering provided a wonderful dinner - Acting General Manager of Engineering Services, Peter Judd, guided everyone through the evening's program that included a speech from the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Suzanne Anton, the screening of a short film from Kaleidoscope students called "Litterbug" which featured KVS volunteers, followed by a screening of the acclaimed documentary, "Garbage Dreams". To end the evening, Tourism Vancouver, Tim Hortons and the Vancouver Courier rounded up an amazing number of door prizes to give to our volunteers.
There were a number of other highlights during this year’s KVS campaign. Between April 19th and 23rd a dozen schools celebrated Earth Day by removing litter from their neighbourhoods. On May 7th 2,700 participants from local schools and community groups took part in the huge Renfrew-Collingwood Cleanup organized by the Collingwood Community Policing Centre. The next day, the West End Cleanup Group celebrated their third anniversary with another in their series of monthly litter cleanups. On May 15th the South Hill (Fraser Street) Business Improvement Association had a big turnout to spruce up their commercial shopping area. To end the month the Vancouver Chinatown Merchants Association brought volunteers together to clean up their neighbourhood. School participation continues to drive the program: this year 13,700 students from 63 schools helped make their neighbourhoods litter-free.
We are here twelve months a year
Although we tend to focus our efforts during the month of May, the job of keeping our City looking spectacular is a year-long challenge. Whatever the season, if you want to organize a neighbourhood cleanup, we are here to help. Keep Vancouver Spectacular will supply you with all the necessary cleanup materials. The pickup service outside the month of May does vary a little so best to call the KVS Hotline at 604-871-6544 first to make the necessary arrangements.
The Collingwood Community Policing Centre has also partnered with the City of Vancouver to run a pilot Adopt-a-Block program in the Mount Pleasant, Kensington-Cedar Cottage, Victoria-Fraserview, Killarney and Renfrew-Collingwood neighbourhoods. The Collingwood CPC supports residents who want to keep their neighbourhoods free of garbage and looking bright and clean by removing litter on their streets. This program has many benefits that include:
- Building a strong and proud community
- Getting to know your neighbours better
- Maintaining a beautiful neighbourhood
The Collingwood CPC has more information on the program at their web-site or call them at: 604-717-2935.
Thank you
A big thanks to all the block captains who lead the way for the program by organizing the cleanups and recruiting the volunteers. And to everyone who took part in the cleanups, it's your hard work that makes this campaign more and more successful each year. We appreciate your contributions and look forward to seeing you in 2011. Each year the City of Vancouver presents "Golden Dust Pan" awards to groups or individuals that stood out in their commitment to their communities and embodied the spirit of Keep Vancouver Spectacular. A special thanks to our 2010 winners:
Yoshitaka Nakao
Yoshitaka is a Japanese student currently attending Pacific Gateway International College on Robson Street. Last year Yoshitaka began picking up litter in the downtown area, for about an hour a day after his classes ended. In January he recruited his classmates to help out. On Friday afternoons a group of Pacific Gateway students spends a couple of hours cleaning up litter left on the streets near their school. Yoshitaka has received numerous compliments on doing his part to make our city a better place. We are fortunate that he decided to study here in Vancouver.
Grandview-Woodland Community Policing Centre
This year the CPC on Commercial Drive has been organizing litter monthly clean ups in their community. Their biggest clean-up was on April 17th. Fifty-three citizens, including a group of university students from Arkansas, cleaned up 82 blocks, filling 55 bags with trash. To celebrate Keep Vancouver Spectacular the CPC approached the Board of Parks and Recreation to do a temporary mural project on the field house at Grandview Park. The park will be closed on July 1st for renovation, but in the meantime the field house was covered in offensive graffiti. On May 9th that all changed as the tags were replaced with a wonderful mural.
Envirotest
The final recipient of our Golden Dust Pan Award is Envirotest, the company that operates AirCare testing stations in Vancouver. In 2008, both of Vancouver’s Air Care stations signed on to perform clean ups in areas of the city where illegal dumping is an ongoing problem. Tonight we are recognizing the contribution made by employees at the East Vancouver station in the Hastings-Sunrise area. Nine staff members make regular sweeps around the adjoining streets and into Charles Park. It’s not easy work – the area receives more than its share of illegal dumping and discarded needles are often part of the clean-up.