Efforts to restore Sudbury's Junction Creek continue
Junction creek is 52 km long and runs through the heart of downtown Sudbury.
On Sunday a small group of volunteers had the dirty job of cleaning litter from the waterway.
From shopping carts, to needles, and a lot of plastic, it's all part of an effort to restore the creek that has been badly damaged by pollution and often used as a dumping ground.
Dressed in hip waders, Miranda Virtanen was in the middle of the creek pulling out garage.
"I have got a net full of stuff that I have collected here as you can see the Styrofoam is the most. Plastic bags, some water bottles as well, little tiny pieces of plastic fragments. Some lighters, yah you name it. it's in here there are some shoes that we found, pop cans," said Miranda Virtanen, the executive director of the Junction Creek Stewardship Committee.
Several needles were also found floating in the water.
"In different areas of the creek it's more of a hazard than others and because they float when there is the log jams, they tend to accumulate in those areas," said Virtanen.
This summer the Committee is running a free youth program called Empowering Youth for Junction Creek for teens ages 13-18.
"We have a guided hike with a wildlife naturalist who is going to teach us a little bit about the history of the creek and some of the ecology," said Lindsay Potts a Wildlife Naturalist with the Junction Creek Stewardship Committee.
"We have in stream water sampling with a water technician. Youth are going to get to participate in cross cultural teachings and learnings."
The motto of the committee is ‘creating hope through environmental restoration.
"Part of the Junction Creek Stewardship Committee's efforts is restoring the creek so that it is a healthy ecosystem and we bring back that biodiversity because Greater Sudbury in it's entirety has suffered a lot of damage through historic logging and mining," said Virtanen.
Volunteers out Sunday said it feels good to do something green.
"Sometimes environmental issues can feel very overwhelming but the best place to start is really in your own backyard and so one piece of trash at a time," said Potts.
In the past 20 years, the committee said over 84,000 kilograms of garbage has been cleaned out of the waterway and it's hopeful one day trash booms will be installed in sections of the creek.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery caught on video
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
New evidence challenges the Pentagon's account of a horrific attack as the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan: CNN exclusive
New video evidence uncovered by CNN significantly undermines two Pentagon investigations into an ISIS-K suicide attack outside Kabul airport, during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.