With the snow and cold gone, it's time for some spring cleaning.
Members of the Innisfail Nails, Needles, and Noses 4-H Club are once again helping clean up area highways this spring.
The annual highway cleanup event takes place on May 7 with a rain date of May 14.
“Highway cleanup is always the first or second Saturday in May,” said 4-H leader Keith Gabert. “It's a fundraiser project that Alberta Transportation provides and supports. It's a community service and fundraising project at the same time.”
The Annual Highway Cleanup program is sponsored by Alberta Transportation and is used as a fundraiser for service groups across the province.
“Anyone that wants to can apply and participate in that fundraiser (upon approval from Alberta Transportation),” said Gabert. “(Alberta Transportation) pick portions of the highway that they would like cleaned and we generally clean areas that are within 10 miles of town.
“We get a good mix of adult volunteers and youth who come out and help clean the highways,” he added, noting members of the public are encouraged to slow down when they see service clubs across Alberta and here in Innisfail cleaning the highways on May 7.
“There will be truckloads of orange garbage bags coming off of multiple highways on May 7.”
As they have in past years, the Innisfail Nails, Needles and Noses 4-H Club members will be cleaning a portion of Highway 590. Beginning at the overpass at Highway 2, the club will move east on Highway 590 to the Aberdeen Hall, located at the intersection of highways 590 and 791.
“It seems to take about two miles to drink a cup of coffee and that's where we start to find the most garbage (tossed out of cars),” he said. “The litter starts to drop down in volume once you get about five miles out of town.”
The cleanup is scheduled across Alberta between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. that day, noted Gabert, adding the Innisfail 4-H club usually completes its cleanup by early afternoon.
Participants must be at least nine years of age to contribute to the cleanup, which will take place on both sides of the highway.
When conducting the cleanup the club keeps safety at the forefront said Gabert, noting the use of gloves, safety vests, and caution when cleaning the side of the highway.
“We don't pick up anything that's hazardous or particularly dangerous,” he said. “We mark that with an orange garbage bag for the Alberta highway transportation crews to come and take a look at.”
The ministry divides the fundraiser into three categories -- the A Rate (urban rate), B Rate (special area rate) and C Rate (rural rate), noted Gabert, with each participating club or organization given a certain amount of money for every kilometre of highway it cleans.
Gabert said the event is a learning opportunity for both youth and adults and provides an appreciation for nature and the environment.
“It's a good team-building exercise,” he said. “They also get to see that it's an important fundraiser for us, and they learn that there's way too many things tossed out of people's vehicles,” Gabert concluded.
Keith Gabert
"We get a good mix of adult volunteers and youth who come out and help clean the highways."
