Thousands to participate in Calgary’s 57th pathway and river cleanup

Thousands of volunteers will converge on Calgary’s pathways and riverbanks Friday and into the weekend for the 57th annual Pathway and River Cleanup.

The initiative first began in 1967 when 12-year-old Sandra Crawford was walking alongside the Elbow River, according to the city.

During a walk, she noticed a mattress lying in the water. Despite being unable to remove it on her own, the girl was motivated to take action.

She wrote a letter to the Calgary Herald newspaper, which led to the yearly cleanup project.

This year marks the 57th annual event and the city expects over 2,000 volunteers to participate through Sunday.

“You know people find bikes they find all kinds of things, of course, this event started because a young girl found a mattress in the Elbow River,” says Jim Davis, parks program coordinator with Calgary parks and open spaces. “So people do find a variety of things out there.”

Before the event, volunteers registered as groups and are assigned to a City of Calgary team at one of three designated parks.

During the cleanup, volunteers will remove litter from their assigned location, put it in bags, and place it near or in city garbage bins to be picked up by city staff.

The event runs through Sunday.