Volunteers gather for North Central community cleanup

A pair of posts on social media has triggered an earlier neighbourhood garbage cleanup in North Central Regina.

A Facebook video shared on April 4 by user Michael Scott shows damaged garbage bins surrounded by trash lining a North Central back alley. It went viral, gathering more than 122,000 views in just over two weeks.

As soon as Jackie Tanner saw the video, she knew the neighbourhood had to take action.

Typically, the North Central Community Association organizes cleanups, but with the next one scheduled for June, Tanner decided to organize one earlier.

She created the North Central Community Clean Up Facebook group, teamed up with the grassroots initiative EnviroCollective and got to work.

“It was really gross and unbelievable that this was happening right in our city. I think it just got to the point where we thought, ‘Someone has to do something about this,'” said Shannon Zachidniak, founder of EnviroCollective.

The public is invited to join the three-day cleanup starting Friday at 8 a.m. at the 1200 block of Angus Street, where volunteers will split off into two groups — one will do the blocks north of Fourth Avenue and the other will cover the south side. The cleanup is expected to wrap up on Sunday around 7 p.m. Depending on the turnout, they may finish earlier but have set aside a full three days to get the job done.

“There is that much garbage that it just seems like this is going to take a lot of work to get it all cleaned up and looking nice again,” said Zachidniak.

Volunteers are encouraged to bring gloves, garbage bags and a grabber stick, if they have them, but supplies will be provided to those who don’t — including special containers to dispose of needles. They also plan to make a note of where damaged garbage bins are located and notify the city.

Zachidniak explained they’re getting lots of support from the community; local businesses are also chipping in whatever cash they can. According to posts on the Facebook group, the money is being used to purchase supplies and food to feed volunteers lunch. The North Central Community Association is also helping out by covering the landfill fees.

“It’s also a great opportunity to show that there’s lots of people who do care about North Central and keeping it clean, and who want to do something positive in their community,” said Zachidniak.