Some hardworking volunteers are busy with a special spring cleanup project around Calgary.
It’s a big job and it’s making the city safer for the little ones.
Members of the Calgary Metal Detecting Club (CMDC) have begun their annual warm-weather sweep of parks and playgrounds throughout Calgary.
CMDC members, equipped with metal detectors, began going through the city’s outdoor recreation areas on April 1.
They’ve already found dozens of potentially hazardous items in park and playground spaces covered in gravel, grass and other vegetation. Those finds include lighters, nails and shards of sharp metal.
“Dangerous items,” CMDC president Brett Buchan said, holding up a knife. ”This was buried – super sharp.”
CMDC members began the annual cleanups in 2015, removing hazards every time they go out with metal detectors.
“Quite a few pairs of scissors,” CMDC member Wayne May said. “So all of these dangerous things are now out of the parks and playgrounds. It’s just great.”
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CMDC members will continue making the rounds of Calgary’s outdoor recreation areas until the end of September, knowing that they’re preventing injuries.
“Even myself, while metal detecting, I’ve poked myself with metal objects, and I have experience — 13 years of metal detecting,” Buchan said. “It’s important because the kids don’t know any better – we’re always about the kids.”
CMDC members are proud that the project they started has now spread way beyond Calgary, with annual cleanups now happening in several other towns and cities.
“It’s now Canada-wide, coast to coast,” Buchan said. “It has taken off. It’s amazing.”