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A group of concerned residents of Hope, BC, recently gathered to participate in a major community cleanup.
For two days, more than 50 volunteers and more than a dozen businesses worked together to clear homeless encampments that the RCMP had cleared on Silver Skagit Road, south of Hope.
They used their hands and heavy equipment to remove everything they could.
Dusty Smith, owner of Silver Skagit Mechanical and county councilman, has lived in Hope all his life.
“I would say over the last eight years this has only grown into a bigger problem in all these three different areas that we just addressed,” he said.
“Once we got into it, it was amazing how many things we saw.”
Smith said there was some crime going on in the encampments and the group wanted to be part of cleaning up what was left behind.
He said they finally cleaned everything up.
“It’s just unreal how many people came together and the weather wasn’t great yesterday so it was phenomenal to get people out and staying here with us,” Smith added.
Some of the tires collected in the wooded area near Hope.
Dusty Smith
He said they likely have another day of work ahead of them to restore the area for residents and visitors.
Smith said part of the problem is that the land is in the regional district, but on the edge of the District of Hope and BC Parks land.
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“But it seems like the provincial government and all the governments don’t want to touch it because of the cost and everything that comes with it,” he said.
“So now it’s kind of coming down to the private sector, which is fine, but we want to come here and clean up so people can start using this area more.”
Smith said the community was positive about the operation, and those who couldn’t volunteer their time donated or helped with food and coffee.
“I can’t thank the volunteers enough,” he added. “It is a shame that it is up to volunteers to clean up this situation. But if you don’t get on top of it now while you have the chance, it will only increase.”
RVs were also dumped in the wooded area near Hope.
Dusty Smith
Renee Coghill, who has lived in Hope for 17 years and is a fishing and hiking guide in the region, told Global News she wanted to help clean up the area.
“Once you got into the woods here and saw what was piling up, it was actually kind of devastating and sad,” she said.
“I think (Tuesday) the initial reaction was overwhelming. We were really looking at everything and looking at each other and we were like, ‘Are we going to make this happen?’” she said.
“But you know, people worked together, smiled and got it done. And each time we went through a different section, it encouraged you to keep going and complete it.
Coghill said some stolen items were found in the woods, which was disheartening.
“It’s hard to see things like this in our backyard,” she added.
Daryn Barry, maintenance manager at Valley Helicopters, also said the situation was ‘overwhelming’.
“I drove quite a distance here and you could look over the banks and see how bad it was,” he said.
“But until you got in and really saw the impact on the natural environment, it was quite disturbing.”
Barry asked the owner of Valley Helicopters for help and said they were happy to do it.
“When we came, it seemed like everyone there just had the same love for the environment, the same compassion that was needed for the people who were affected,” he said.
“There were no real problems between the groups of people and everyone just came together and kind of had the same thing in mind to get our nature back to where it is and try not to influence the individuals involved as much as possible, right now.”
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Amy Judd
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