Local residents are being given an unprecedented challenge to make Innisfail cleaner, greener and safer.
Over the next few weeks citizens are gathering with friends, family, neighbours, or co-workers to form a team to participate in May in what the town is hoping will be an annual spring clean up initiative.
The first ever Envision Innisfail Green and Clean event is about to kick off and committee members are inviting all residents to form a team and adopt a street, park, boulevard, or any other area of Innisfail that needs cleaning.
Teams will collect waste and take note of any large objects or hazards that need collecting.
The goal is to have every street adopted by the end of the project and to get garbage off the streets of Innisfail. The reward will be a safer, cleaner, more enjoyable community for residents, said Jennifer Henschel, event coordinator.
“In keeping with the Envision Innisfail values we want to keep with being a welcoming community and being green,” said Henschel.
The Town of Innisfail community services department and a group of community members at large are putting together plans for the clean-up and kick-off party.
Sign-up for adopting an area has already started and teams or individuals can do so by contacting Jenn Henschel with the town at 403-227-1920, or on Facebook at Envision Innisfail Green and Clean.
Once signed up, the team will be provided with gloves, garbage bags, and free transfer station passes or garbage tags to use for the disposal of collected waste. Teams can conduct the clean-up anytime from now until June 30 when the project ends.
Residents and businesses can choose to challenge other teams or businesses to participate in the clean-up and are even encouraged to place friendly bets to get the clean-up started. Challenge forms can be picked up at the town office.
The town will also arranging for large item curbside pick-up at a later date.
Residents are invited to attend the Green and Clean kick-off BBQ party, to be held on Saturday, May 14, from 1-4 p.m. at Centennial Park.
Information about how to conduct a clean-up in your area and about living a greener lifestyle will be available at the BBQ on “Eco Lane,” which will include a series of booths put on by local groups such as Home Hardware, the Co-op Garden Centre, Innisfail Middle School caring citizens, and Fosters recycling.
Laura Gillespie will be speaking on composting and water conservation. Steel Pony will be teaching about locavorian living; and representatives from the Medicine River Wildlife Centre will be talking about animal safety.
The free Go Green BBQ will have locally grown and produced food with beef cut by the Mad Butcher. It will be sponsored by ATCO Gas. Attendees will need to bring their own plates, cups, and utensils in order to be served at the BBQ. Disposable plates will not be available.
There will be entertainment throughout the kick-off party by Tom Lindl and his band TOAST.
The event will also be the kick-off for a new block party initiative where residents will be encouraged to get to know their neighbours and hold a block party in their area.
There will be a town map at the kick-off BBQ that will track which streets have been adopted.
So to start things off, the staff at the Innisfail Province extended a challenge to Central Alberta Printing to adopt their block and clean the streets in their area. Central Alberta Printing accepted the challenge. Province staff will be cleaning the street and alleyway on 49th Street from 49th to 50th Avenue.
The challenge is now officially on.
