2006 cleanup crewFrom September 15th to the 23rd 2007, protect a waterway by participating in the TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup ! Each year during the third week of September, thousands of volunteers from all over Canada join forces to remove the debris that finds its way on our shorelines, and to protect our waterways — and YOU can participate too!

This cleanup the 2nd biggest in the world and here's why: First off, the Vancouver Aquarium will send you the necessary material for free (gloves, garbage and recycling bags, t-shirts for the coordinators, data collection sheets and documentation)!

Secondly, this program is not a simple garbage pickup— when you participate in the Great Canadian shoreline cleanup, you take the time to fill out data sheets on all the debris you collect on the shoreline. These data are then sent to the Vancouver Aquarium who tallies them and sends them to the Ocean Conservancy Group . This international archiving system gives us a better idea of the real issues connected with garbage and our waterways, painting a better picture of the source of the problem and enabling us to elaborate more adequate solutions.

Cleanup teamFinally, the large number of people who participate in this event shows that the Great Shoreline
Cleanup is an excellent way for us to re-integrate aquatic ecosystems in our communities.

How to participate? Simple: You have to register as a participant on the program’s website www.vanaqua.org/cleanup and sign up for a cleanup in your region. But hurry, because the final deadline for registration is September 7th! You can either register as the coordinator of a new cleanup site, or join an already existing one.


In Montreal many sites are open to the public, but here are my suggestions:

• September 15th from 9am to noon, the Biosphère and the Biodôme , both official participants of the program, will be joining forces to cleanup the shoreline of parc André-Corbeil-dit-Tranchemontagne in Rivière-des-Prairies.

• September 22nd from 10am to 2pm, SOS Planète will be cleaning the rivière à l'Orme in the West Island, the last remaining river on the island of Montréal.

Vero at the CleanupThe Vancouver Aquarium started this program 14 years ago, and it has grown from a local beach cleanup to become the second largest shoreline cleanup in the world! Last year alone, 40 000 people participated around the world and removed 84,708 kg of litter from our shorelines. The 2007 edition is shaping up to be even better, as more than 43 000 people have already registered! So hurry to register and join us to make our environment healthier!

—V