CAMPBELL RIVER 鈥� Campbell River鈥檚 Adopt-a-Block volunteers have been told by the city to stop picking up litter in city parks because of union and liability issues.
In effect, Campbell River鈥檚 Adopt-a-Block, a volunteer group with a mission to remove trash from the sidewalks and boulevards of Campbell River and surrounding districts, has been banned from city parks. Adopt a Block is a voluntary association in Campbell River. Volunteers adopt a block and pick up the garbage around that block when they have spare time.
But not everyone is thrilled about the civic spirit, leaving the city as the unfortunate bearers of bad news.
鈥淚 am going to have to ask your group not to pick up litter or perform any other work on our parks sites due to labour relations and liability issues,鈥� wrote Ross Milnthorp, general manager of Parks, Recreation and Culture for the City of Campbell River in an email to Susan Black, leader of the local group.
鈥淥ur single purpose is to clean the city and present [Campbell River] as a beautiful place to observe, smell, listen to and feel,鈥� Black said.
鈥淭he volunteers walk the city willingly, some for long distances, humbly retrieving trash that others have left behind. We are sorry to have been excluded from the parks, which are sometimes on our route. The next time you see trash in the park, leave it be. Apparently, it鈥檚 the property of Parks, Recreation and Culture.鈥�
Milnthorp鈥檚 hands appear to be tied by the union and liability issues, but he said the city is working on that.
鈥淲e intend to develop a 鈥榁olunteers in Parks鈥� program as soon as resources allow and we believe that this program will address the issues and also provide volunteer opportunities, which generate civic pride in our parks system,鈥� Milnthorp wrote.
Black said she thinks the issue might have 鈥渇lared up鈥� when she announced on the group鈥檚 blog that they had adopted Campbell River鈥檚 Spit area.
鈥淣o volunteers have been approached while cleaning up park areas,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ormally, we clean the boulevard, which is defined as six feet in from the sidewalk. But some of our volunteers are very enthusiastic and if they see some litter on their route, they will stop and pick it up. They are so happy about the work they are doing.
鈥淚 would like to know the nature of the liability. If there is in fact a huge risk, then I will announce that to our volunteers.鈥�
Adopt-a-Block is registered with Clean Up the World, an organization sanctioned by the United Nations. For more information, see:
http://www.cleanuptheworld.org
Black can be reached at [email protected].
