By Spencer Sterritt

Beach cleanup restores Pipers Lagoon to natural glory

Sep 25, 2017 | 6:16 PM

NANAIMO — How many times have you gone down to the beach or lake and found your perfect weekend getaway marred by trash lining the shoreline?

Kristi Woodall said it happens all too frequently, which is why she and 32 others spent their Sunday cleaning Pipers Lagoon in Nanaimo.

“I think people are looking for a beautiful place but are forgetting that to maintain beauty and sanctuary they have to be really careful. Or to remind their friends that the stuff which accidentally blows out of the car or a backpack, or that silly cigarette butt that gets flicked (needs to be picked up),” she said.

Woodall said the cleaning crew found several hundred cigarette butts, dog waste bags and fast food trash on the beach.

She said it’s important to remember how fragile water ecosystems can be and any bit of trash can have harmful side effects which are never considered.

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“If we don’t have the water at a healthy state, we won’t be able to remain healthy,” she said.

While Woodall said it’s disappointing to have to go down and cleanup a beautiful spot like Pipers Lagoon, overall it’s a more positive experience to think of it as enjoying a day at the beach and also helping out.

“It’s the easiest job in the world to pick up a piece of garbage…you might find some treasure or you might find some trash.”

Woodall said she’s currently working with the City of Nanaimo to set up another cleanup elsewhere in the city.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit