Divers for Cleaner Lakes and Oceans Shoreline Cleanup Event

Story submitted by BC Parks Area Supervisor Rob Wilson

It was an amazing day at Cultus Lake involving 7 volunteer divers and myself as the BC Parks representative. Divers were transported from the shoreline to the cleanup location in our vessel, and as the volunteers filled up their bags with litter, I’d clip them to the boat and take the divers and bags back to shore.

One of the really neat aspects of this cleanup event was the Blue Heron and family of Mergansers that shared this small area of the lake with us. For me, the presence of the wildlife really helped put the efforts of the divers into context…these were some of the creatures our efforts were going to help preserve, hopefully.

This was the second cleanup in this area for the Divers for Cleaner Lakes and Oceans. This most recent effort removed a total of 705.8lbs of garbage. This included 1924 cans, 1400 glass bottles and 70 plastic bottles. Also found were 2 anchors and a crank and flywheel from an engine (likely used as an anchor). Everything that was collected will be recycled, right down to the crankshaft. The two clean-up days in this area has resulted in 1383lbs of garbage removed from this small section of the lake. I’m proud to say that the divers have deemed the area “clean” for now!

I can’t express my thanks enough to the fine folks who make up the Divers for Cleaner Lakes and Oceans group. Your efforts are amazing and we are all so very appreciative.

Also, many thanks to Sea to Sky Park Services who provided complimentary campsites to the volunteers who worked on this most recent cleanup. The crew was able to relax and take in the beauty of the lake for a little while thanks to your kind donation; it was appreciated.

If you are interested in organizing a Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup event, please contact your local BC Parks staff or email BCParks.Volunteers@gov.bc.ca to find out who you should contact. Funding is available to support cleanup event expenses such as cleanup supplies, fuel, lunch, snacks, etc.