Peter L. Smith
L’ISLE-AUX-ALLUMETTES – The annual Eco Fest community clean-up, held April 26 at Harington Community Centre, was all about community involvement and pride in the region in which we reside. Several adults and youth came together to clean up area roads despite the poor weather.
Peter L. Smith
L’ISLE-AUX-ALLUMETTES – The annual Eco Fest community clean-up, held April 26 at Harington Community Centre, was all about community involvement and pride in the region in which we reside. Several adults and youth came together to clean up area roads despite the poor weather.
Garbage bags and gloves were provided for clean-up participants, who also received complimentary T-shirts and lunch, courtesy of the Chapeau and District Lions Club. Earlier in the week, students from Dr. Wilbert Keon School and École Notre Dame du Sacre Coeur cleaned up areas close to their schools. Municipal employees were available to pick up garbage bags, identified with Eco Fest decals, and transport them back to the Community Centre.
Aside from the garbage clean-up, students from Dr. Wilbert Keon School hosted a science fair focussing on the three R’s, reduce, re-use and recycle, inside the Community Centre. Exhibits included presentations on the food chain, wetlands, runoff, watersheds, solar energy and hydro electric energy. Students also displayed various art creations using recycled materials.
There was also a display comparing bottled water to tap water with the question, ‘Why Buy Air?’ According to the students, no-one would consider buying air, a precious natural resource, so why would we buy bottled water, which is also a precious natural resource? Students provided brochures explaining the health hazards of bottled water and the cost to the environment. They also explained that companies that make bottled water often take the water from municipal tap systems for a very small fee. Students hope to eliminate the use of bottled water in their school and have been educating fellow students about the issue.
Afternoon entertainment was provided in the Community Centre by local musicians, Chris Gardner, Kathy Neville and special guests. Margaret Lavallee of Makin Faces provided face painting for the children.
This year, fourteen new sections of municipal roads, each one to one and a half kilometres in length, were adopted in the municipality, bringing the total to 40. Close to 45% of the island’s municipal roads have been adopted.
