The fourth annual PUG (Pick Up Garbage) Day, was held on Friday, May 10 (with a few people doing their bit the evening of May 9).
Coordinator Henry Czarnota of the Olds Lions Club says the event seems to gather more momentum every year, and 2019 was no different. In fact, he sees evidence that people are starting to keep their community clean all year round.
That's fantastic.
"We're making small steps, improvements," Czarnota says.
"We've got a little bit of interest. I see many more people in the last few days -- not necessarily just on PUG Day -- but a few days before and after, going around picking up a few things. We're a long way from saying it's great, but I think we're making progress each year."
For example, he says people are now employed to clean up garbage in a good portion of the Cornerstone development.
"That's a step forward," he says.
Hopefully other businesses — not only in Cornerstone, but throughout town — will pick up on that initiative and clean up their premises on at least a weekly basis.
The schools have really gotten into the act, including high school students. Czarnota doesn't have a firm figure on exactly how many people participate in PUG Day now, but he guesses about 1,500 students might be taking part.
In addition, members of the Lions Club — which came up with the idea for PUG Day — participate, along with members of the Olds Legion and many others.
That's encouraging.
As Czarnota says, the way you look after your community speaks volumes about how you care about the health of the world as a whole.
"If we're thinking about the global environment, how we treat our own (community) is I think a reflection of how we might think of our greater surroundings. If we treat our town well, then that's an attitude we have for our environment as a whole," he says.
