Cliff Relph is enjoying a stroll through his Knight Street neighbourhood. But he’s not empty handed – he’s armed with gloves and shopping bags, tools that have become his trademark.
Relph says he was on a walk six months ago and had a thought that went something like this:
“Someone should clean this up. Wait, I’m someone, I can take care of this.”
So he did.
What did he take care of? Ridding his area of unsightly garbage.
For 100 days, Relph would take a 15-minute break from work and collect garbage, easily filling two to three shopping bags.
So what did he find on his 2.5-kilometre walk? All sorts of things including:
“Banana peels…cigarette butts. One night I counted 500. Also shoes. Dentures; but I’m not willing to do the Cinderella story on that one!”
He also found loads of the usual suspects: coffee cups and food wrappers.
Neighbours in the area say they’re impressed with what he’s done. They’re hopeful others will take up the cause.
Relph said he took on his ‘Knight in Vancouver’ 100-day challenge to honour the memory of his beloved late grandmother and her love of volunteering.
He also decided to clean up his neighbourhood because “it’s a great way to keep Vancouver as awesome as it is.”
He is “gobsmacked”, though, by how many people have been following him on social media.
So will he continue to do his dirty cleanup work? Yes, but on a smaller scale. He’s hoping others will help and take up the cause.
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