Great Lakes Coastal Cleanup

Thunder Bay will be one of six cities in Ontario along the shores of the Great Lakes hosting a cleaning event for World Rivers Day.

The St. Lawrence Cities Initiative organized the event, and Eco Superior joined as a partner for Thunder Bay’s cleanup.

Kingston, Cobourg, Owen Sound, Collingwood, and Chatham-Kent are also participating in cleaning up their respective lakeshores.

Thunder Bay’s event will begin at 11 a.m. at Lorne Allard Fisherman’s Park.

Danielle Thom is Thunder Bay’s Climate Action Specialist. She says Fisherman’s Park was selected to highlight the restoration work in the area in the last few decades.

“Lorne Allard Fisherman’s Park, and Fisherman’s Park West were highly contaminated sites,” Thom explains. “Since the 1990s, they’ve cleaned the soil in the area, replanted and reestablished something on, honestly, a bit of a desolate wasteland on the mouth of the Current River there. So it’s just a really cool backdrop for us to continue to clean and take care of the area.”

In addition to speeches by Mayor Ken Boshcoff and Minister Patty Hajdu, the cleanup will be preceded by a drum performance by the Sisters of Turtle Island Drum group.

Elder Sheila DeCorte, who leads the drum group, will be teaching attendees about water walking at the event. She is also a member of the city’s Indigenous Advisory Council and leads a group called For the Love of the Rivers that conducts water walks in Thunder Bay.

Thom wanted Elder DeCorte to be present for the event: “Environmental reconciliation should be at the forefront. We can’t reconcile with the people without also reconciling with the land,” Thom remarked when asked about DeCorte. “It’s just a really natural fit in this case.”

In addition to shoreline cleanup, the event will also feature an eco-diving demonstration, waste sorting, and the planting of native Thunder Bay plant species.

There will be limited parking at the event, so the organizers recommend using the shuttle if possible. It will depart from the Thunder Bay Community Auditorium at 10:45 a.m. to transport participants to the location.

Thom also suggests participants cycle to the event if they can, as there will be a bicycle valet on site.