Calgarian cleans public spaces, hopes to instill pride

Despite Calgary’s track record as a clean city, it isn’t unusual to come across some litter.

So, a Calgary man has decided to take the matter into his own hands, hoping to instill pride in people to take care of their neighbourhoods.

It started as something he could do in his downtime, as he noticed a lot of garbage piling up while he was walking near 36 Street and Memorial Drive in Marlborough.

“I passed by that area again, I saw how bad it was and it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing,” said Matthew Edwards.

The 31-year-old picked up a box of large garbage bags, some gloves, and got to work — spending upwards of four hours cleaning the entire area.

“The very first time was just something for me to keep busy while I was still looking for a job and to just stay positive. I was just doing what I can to boost my morale going forward,” said Edwards. “I got nothing else to do, keep the positivity going.”

In before-and-after pictures posted online, there’s a visible difference, and hundreds of Calgarians have noticed.

“These areas may be bad but if we all come together, we can make a difference,” he said.

Discussions have begun on what other areas of the city might not be as clean as they should be.

“It’s not only on the city, it’s on us as people,” said Edwards. “Us coming together and doing this is a great way for the city to see ‘Oh, people are taking an interest in this, maybe we should invest more money into this so our citizens don’t have to be the ones making posts’ and jumpstarting them to take action.”

Over the last week, Edwards has cleaned up multiple neighbourhoods, with plans to do even more in the weeks ahead.

“Once things went viral like it did, I thought this can’t just be a one-time thing, I want the message to go out farther and so I thought, might as well keep it up, do it again,” he said,

He is hopeful it will inspire people to have pride in their neighbourhoods.

“The payment for me is the good feeling I get doing it out of the kindness of my heart,” Edwards said. “I could see myself doing this for the foreseeable future and making people smile.”