Wednesday was World Water Day, a day that brings awareness to water accessibility and conservation.
As the spring weather settles in, Kal Beach in Coldstream, B.C., will start to see more people sinking their feet in the sand and before they do the Regional District of North Okanagan (RDNO) is reminding the public to keep the shoreline clean.
“Thought it’d be nice to have an event where we could celebrate having access to drinkable water and about maintaining our watershed, especially in the Okanagan where we have a drier climate,” said Rachelle Demetrick, RDNO water conservation utilities manager.
To mark World Water Day, the RDNO and Allan Brooks Nature Centre hosted a cleanup at the beach, picking up garbage left behind on the shores that may contaminate the water.
“We’re kind of teaching about that where all this stuff ends up and how it’s really important for us to keep our waterways clean,” said Alexis Olynyk
“Not just for the animals and the fish, of course, but also for ourselves because here in Vernon we do actually get our drinking water from Kalamalka Lake.”
The event invited people of all ages to do their part and some were excited about the opportunity to help the environment.
“We just like keeping the ecosystem clean and stuff,” said Grade 4 student Brooklyn Rosenberger.
One local resident says she used to do shoreline cleanups on Vancouver Island and has now carried on the tradition in the Okanagan.
“Moving here and being with the grandchildren, they know the importance of keeping things clean but it’s one thing to just be talking about it, the other thing is actually doing it,” said Mary-Margeret Kelly.
A group of middle school students also joined the cleanup, hoping to make a difference in the community.
“Just like save the environment and the animals, because like most of the animals are eating it, like the trash,” said Grade 8 student Jade Hausberger.
The Allan Brooks Nature Centre hopes that getting kids involved in the event will influence them to make a difference in the future.
“The more connection they have to it, the more they’re going to want to care about it and protect it. I love it when they go home and they tell their parents, you know, ‘Don’t wash your car in the driveway, we should take it to the car wash instead because we don’t want that water to go down the drain and to effect our fish’,” Olynyk said.
The RDNO is tracking the waste picked up at the beach to determine the biggest contaminants in the area.