Help clean the Fraser River's banks before spring floods wash garbage into the Salish Sea

The Georgia Straight, Martin Dunphy 

If you'd like to top up your good-karma levels to coincide with the arrival of nice weather, head down to the banks of the Fraser River the week after the spring equinox.

There, close to the city of Chilliwack, the 13th annual Fraser River Cleanup will see hundreds of volunteers scour the river's banks and bars for litter and illegally dumped garbage on March 28.

Volunteers clean up the Fraser River's banks during the 2019 cleanup. Image: Fraser Riverkeeper

Last year, more than 700 environmentally-minded souls showed up to remove junk that threatens the well-being of salmon and wildlife that depend on the Fraser. The cleanup date is timed to nab the trash before the annual spring freshet washes it all downstream and into the Salish Sea.

The previous dozen years of cleanups have seen more than 130 tonnes of refuse taken out of the river and environs.

Hundreds of volunteers showed up in 2019 for the Fraser River Cleanup. Image: Fraser Riverkeeper

The initiative is hosted by registered charity Fraser Riverkeeper; for more info and to learn how to RSVP for the cleanup at Gill Bar on March 28 (from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.), go here.

Original article: https://www.straight.com/news/1366366/help-clean-fraser-rivers-banks-spring-floods-wash-garbage-salish-sea