Brockville, Ont. students do their part on Earth Day ahead of Saturday's community-wide cleanup

The Community-Wide Cleanup got a head start on Friday, with students from local public and high schools helping to beautify Brockville, Ont.

"We're trying to do our part," said Brockville Collegiate Institute (BCI) Grade 8 teacher Scott Moore. "Lots of garbage from the winter thaw, so we're helping out the community."

The class walked around Blockhouse Island picking up bags of trash, heading through the Railway Tunnel on the way back to school. 

"I've heard on the other side of the tunnel, it's a little messy," Moore said. 

Students Chloe Silos and Ava Marshall held up a full bag of what they picked up. 

"A lot of like, Tim Horton's and food remains and stuff. Garbage type things, plastic wrappers, mostly just garbage and food," Silas said. 

In the north end at Vanier Public School, Peter Gilder's grade 5 and 6 class were also headed out armed with gloves and garbage bags. 

Students from Vanier Public School in Brockville, Ont. pick up garbage at Memorial Park. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

"We're going to go clean up anything that looks like it's safe to pick up and we're going to bag it and see if we can bring some community pride to the area," Gilder said.

The class discussed safety tips for picking up garbage and what it meant to be involved in the community. 

"I was trying to stress it's an opportunity to show the rest of the community that something that becomes clean, hopefully it is something that is maintained," Gilder said. 

"People take pride in that and say, 'You know what? I'm going to do my part as well,' and 'Maybe I'm not going to dump anything on the ground' and hopefully it snowballs into something that becomes significant in that regard," he added. 

"They've got the tips, they're all smiling, they are out of the classroom and they are in the fresh air so they are all happy right now, gung-ho," Gilder said. 

The class made its way over to Memorial Park, before returning with bags full of trash. 

"It's harmful for the environment and it could really endanger animals," said one student. 

City staff help clean up Brockville, Ont. on Earth Day. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

Behind Brockville City Hall, staff also helped to clean up the downtown, raking and filling trash bags. 

"Branches, leaves, garbage, especially the garbage, though," said Mayor Mike Kalivas. "The garbage is the key. It's unfortunate that we have to do that every year. Garbage is something that we're all responsible for and we need to do a better job for keeping our earth clean."

The mayor issued a challenge ahead of Earth Week for Brockville businesses to join in on the Community-Wide Cleanup happening Saturday morning. 

More than 40 have signed up, along with more than 600 residents and volunteers, registering nearly every park in the city for a deep clean. 

"I know the community always gets together, they want to make the city look great and we're hoping that will happen," Kalivas said.

The city also received donations from sponsors Home Depot and Glad, offering up trash bags, gloves and yard waste bags. 

"We're cleaning up everything, there's leaves to be done, obviously branches that have been falling the last couple of weeks from the windstorms that we've had so it's a full-scale clean up of the lawns and of the neighbourhoods.," he added, noticing the group from BCI. 

"That makes us feel really, really good," Kalivas said. "It's important that we see the students grab a hold of that and the schools. It's important that they learn right from a young age that, you know what, we have one earth and it's incredibly important that we take care of it."

The Community-Wide Cleanup takes place from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. across the city, and there is still time to register at www.brockvillecleanup.ca