Submitted by Peninsula Bruce Trail Club and Rotary Club of Northern Bruce Peninsula
Join us for a free educational lunch and learn, What’s Left Behind – The Impact of Single Use Plastic on the Environment, on Wednesday, August 26th at 12 noon. This is a hybrid meeting – you can join us in person at the Rotary Hall in Lion’s Head or virtually via ZOOM. Bring your lunch. Beverages provided. Contact Marg at pbtcoutreach@gmail.com for more information.
Chelsea Rochman, Associate Professor at University of Toronto Department of Ecology and Environmental Biology will provide an overview of her research related to plastic pollution. In addition to research, Chelsea translates science beyond academia acting as the Head of Operations and Lead of Scientific Programming and Application for the UofT Trash Team.
UofT Trash Team is a science based organization at the University of Toronto which aims to improve waste literacy and reduce plastic pollution. Rien Maynard is a an undergraduate in Biodiversity, Conservation Biology and Political Science and Pollution Prevention Fellow at UofT. Rein will join Chelsea to provide an overview of their research about the reduction in cigarette butt debris in highly trafficked areas.
Photo: Lunch and Learn speaker Chelsea Rochman, Associate Professor at University of Toronto.
Photo: Rien Maynard is a an undergraduate in Biodiversity, Conservation Biology and Political Science and Pollution Prevention Fellow at UofT. Rein will join Chelsea to provide an overview of their research about the reduction in cigarette butt debris in highly trafficked areas.
A Greener Future (AGF) is a non-profit environmental organization which focuses on education about plastic pollution in the Great Lakes. Later this summer, Rochelle Byrne and AGF will visit Bruce Peninsula National Park to share their experience and knowledge, while conducting shoreline and Bruce Trail cleanups.
Let’s look local! This summer, Rotary Club of Northern Bruce Peninsula joined Peninsula Bruce Trail Club’s (PBTC) trail stewardship program called, Hike It! Love It! Keep It Clean! Together, the two clubs aim to remove at least 7,000 cigarette butts from the Bruce Trail.
The cigarette butt collections contribute toward the Bruce Peninsula National Park’s butt collection, and at season’s end are dried, baled and sent to Terra Cycle for recycling. Here, the butts are separated into compostable, non-compostable and recyclable materials. The plastic components are recycled into items such as plastic benches, pallets and lawn furniture. Your butt could literally be sitting on our local Butt Collection!
PBTC is one of nine Bruce Trail Conservancy Clubs supporting BTC. Bruce Trail is a non-profit, non-governmental organization with a dual mandate – to steward a conservation corridor along the Niagara Escarpment from Wiarton to Tobermory and maintain a public footpath within that corridor. Rotary Club of Northern Bruce Peninsula brings together volunteers to address global and local challenges, support humanitarian needs and work toward local improvements.
The Rotary Club team have already removed over 2,000 cigarette butts from the Lion’s Head Beach and Marina in just two Butt Blitzes this year!
PBTC Hike It! Love It! Keep It Clean! volunteers picked up over 700 cigarette butts along the Bruce Trail in Wiarton, in just one litter pickup!
Marg Glendon, Hike It! Love It! Keep It Clean! Coordinator says, “During the past five years, PBTC volunteers have categorized, counted and removed litter from the Bruce Trail, including thousands of cigarette butts from Bruce Trail hot spots on the Saugeen (Bruce) Peninsula. Bruce Trail Litter Hotspots occur in heavily trafficked areas, such as popular local destination points, adjacent busy parking areas, and town paths. Our aim is to keep the trail clean, educate trail users about the impact of single use plastic, promote reusable food and beverage containers, encourage responsible cigarette butt disposal, and keep cigarette butts from going to our local landfill.”
We need all hands on deck to protect our environment!
Learn more about our local project, how to help, and what science is telling us about the impact of plastic pollution on our environment. Join as for What’s Left Behind? on Wednesday, August 26th, noon-1 pm, for this informative lunch and learn. If joining virtually, look for information on local posters and the Peninsula Bruce Trail Club and Northern Peninsula Rotary Club social media accounts.
