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Community stewards clean the banks of Junction Creek

A few dozen volunteers came out to help clean up the banks of Junction Creek in New Sudbury on Saturday during the latest in a series of community cleanups
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Sydney Shallow poses for a photo with her children Harper, 10, and Everett, 4, during a cleanup along Junction Creek in New Sudbury on Saturday.

Volunteers from throughout Greater Sudbury banded together in New Sudbury on Saturday afternoon to clean a stretch of Junction Creek’s branks.

“It’s to protect our community,” 10-year-old Harper Shallow told Sudbury.com.

Harper joined their mother, Sydney, and younger sibling, Everett, 4, in joining the Junction Creek Stewardship Committee’s final clean up of the year.

The youngster added that they're concerned about the mess garbage makes, and wants their community to be clean.

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Yanghee Ki and Jyothsna Dindigala pile a discarded tent into a garbage bag during a cleanup along Junction Creek in New Sudbury on Saturday. Tyler Clarke / Sudbury.com

Saturday’s cleanup took place along a stretch of the creek running behind the New Sudbury Shopping Centre.

Prior to Saturday’s cleanup, Junction Creek Stewardship Committee volunteers had picked up 2,000 kg of garbage along the banks of the creek so far this year, during which they have targetted a different area with various cleanup efforts.

During their 25 years, executive director Miranda Virtanen said they’ve picked up more than 90,000 kg. 

“Even small actions like this can have a big impact,” she said, adding that it leads to a healthier environment and community.

This was the last cleanup of the season due to the impending snow which will make it more difficult to find garbage.

The committee offers four key tips when it comes to creek-friendly cleanups:

  1. Leave fallen branches and rocks in the creek, because they are providing homes to fish and other wildlife and increase turbulence in the water, which creates oxygen which fish and other wildlife can breathe.
  2. Be careful with shoreline vegetation, because it helps prevent erosion, provides food for fish and other wildlife and creates shade and cools down water temperature.
  3. Disturb sediments at the bottom of the creek as little as possible. It is sometimes better to leave foreign objects in place if they are embedded in the creek bed. Particles in the water can clog fish gills and prevent them from breathing, and can settle on the bottom and smother eggs and larvae.
  4. Safety first. Wear gloves and footwear, and avoid deep areas of the creek.
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Antonia Gonzailez Cubillos and Dayne Belgica hold up a terracotta planter they found next to Junction Creek during a cleanup in New Sudbury on Saturday. Tyler Clarke / Sudbury.com

To learn more about the committee, visit their website, junctioncreek.com

Sudbury.com last reported on the committee last month, when a recent fish study they conducted found a mottled sculpin in Junction Creek, in the New Sudbury neighbourhood. The fish marks the 19th fish species observed in the upper reaches of Junction Creek since their first fish assessment in 2019, and is considered indicative of a water body on the mend.

Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.

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Volunteers await instruction during a cleanup along Junction Creek in New Sudbury on Saturday. Tyler Clarke / Sudbury.com
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Volunteers make their way to Junction Creek for a cleanup effort on Saturday. Tyler Clarke / Sudbury.com

 



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