As part of cleanup work which will be taking place valley-wide into the future, about 20 volunteers gathered in Three Sisters Campground in Dead Man’s Flat on Sept. 30.
The campground in Bow Valley Provincial Park has been partially closed since the June flood in the valley, after Pigeon Creek and the Bow River flooded into lower areas of the campground. The road through the campground was cleared earlier, but many campsites remain under about a half metre of soil and silt washed down by the creek, while the creek bed and brush along the stream are full of debris.
On Monday, Kananaskis Country Volunteer Stewards were on-site, in the creek and in the brush, removing wooden pallets, lumber, an oil drum, fridge door, a metal sink and miscellaneous small trash. In all, between noon and 3 p.m., the volunteers removed nine pickup truck loads of debris which were removed by staff from Thunderstone Quarry.
“There are about 120 members with the stewards,” said Conservation Officer Arian Spiteri, who was also helping with cleanup. “They do a variety of projects on parklands; rehabilitation, cleanups, reclamation, pond cleanups, wildlife attractant removal, bear and wildlife underpass monitoring, improving sight lines in campgrounds – anything to do with parks.”
Stewards are from Canmore and Banff, Cochrane and Airdrie, even Okotoks.
The Monday cleanup was spur of the moment, said Spiteri. “We try to do work projects about every three weeks, but this one just happened because I sent out a quick email asking if anyone was interested. All these people showed up today. They’re a dedicated group and they work really hard.”
Volunteers were able to take advantage of boots, gloves, garbage pickers and waders supplied by the Biosphere Institute, which had received an Environment Canada damages fund grant. The items, said Institute Executive Director Melanie Watt, who was also in on the cleanup, were funded for other cleanups, but after the flood event, have been pressed into service for other projects.
“People can borrow them, though,” she said. “If anyone needs them for home cleanup, or whatever, they can call us.”
Anyone interested in joining the stewards can call the Bow Valley Park office at 403-673-366. Anyone interested in gathering more information about the stewards can attend a fall wrap-up meeting, Nov. 17 (location to be announced).
