Events

THE ROTARY CLUBS OF OSHAWA, OSHAWA-PARKWOOD AND COURTICE MEMBERS, FAMILY , CIVIC LEADERS AND FRIENDS HELP THE FRIENDS OF THE SECOND MARSH

CLEAN UP THE MARSH  FROM LITTER    - PART OF ROTARY’S THIRD ANNUAL GREAT LAKES WATERSHED CLEANUP

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: 9:30 AM  APRIL 26, 2025 AT ENTRANCE TO SECOND MARSH ON COLONEL SAM DRIVE (The meeting location will be at the metal gate located on Colonel Sam Drive, just past the Waterfront Trail Entrance. We are asking everyone to park along the south side of the road only.)

Civic Leaders who have been invited to attend and help pick up garbage: Regional Chair John Henry, Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter,  Clarington Mayor Adrian Foster, MPP Jennifer French, MPP Todd McArthy,  MP Colin Carrie, MP Jamil Jivani, Oshawa councillors Bob Chapman, Rick Kerr Tito Dante Marimpietri, and Jim Lee .

OSHAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA, APRIL 3, 2025 –  The Rotary Clubs of Oshawa, Oshawa-Parkwood, and Courtice their members, family and friends will be assisting the Friends of The Second Marsh by helping to collect refuse and cleaning up in the Second Marsh on Saturday, April 26, as part of Rotary’s Fifth Annual Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup Project, it was announced today, by the three Rotary Club Presidents: Grant Desjardine (Oshawa), Hilda Finnigan (Oshawa-Parkwood) and  Janice Jones (Courtice) .

We have invited civic and regional Rotary leaders, family and friends to join us at 9:30 am on Saturday April 26. The starting point will be at the metal gate located on Colonel Sam Drive, just past the Second Marsh Waterfront Trail Entrance.

We have also invited Regional Chair John Henry, Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter, Clarington Mayor Adrian Foster, MPP Jennifer French, MPP Todd McCarthy, and MP Colin Carrie, MP Jamil Jivani and councillors to lend their hand, and help us clean up the Second Marsh.

Rotary clubs world-wide share an interest in protecting our common legacy: the environment. Rotarians world-wide are committed to supporting activities that strengthen the conservation and protection of natural resources, advance ecological sustainability, and foster harmony between communities and the environment. Helping our Friends of the Second Marsh on Rotary’s Third Annual Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup is one way, they help protect the environment.

The Rotary Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup will be in full swing, on April 26, with Rotarians and the whole Rotary family, on both sides of the Canadian and U.S. border rolling up their sleeves to collect refuse along the shoreline, and innumerable waterway tributaries to the Great Lakes basin. In Toronto, where the city is also bringing in Cleanup Toronto after a 3-year absence, several Rotary Clubs will be joining forces with community groups as they participate in the “Don’t Mess With the Don” cleanups across the city.  This is great example of ‘Rotary - People in Action’ and brings considerable community attention to the importance of Environmental Sustainability, one of Rotary International’s 7 areas of focus.

This initiative was created by Rotarian International’s District 7070 Governor Mark Chipman, from the Rotary Club of Whitby-Sunrise with his fellow District Governors surrounding the Great Lakes, in 2021. This event is a huge rallying of Rotarian resources, involving provinces in Canada and surrounding U.S. States – Rotary Clubs, Rotaract Clubs (part of the Rotary family for those 18 years of age and up), their members, friends, and families.

“Each year 22 million pounds of plastic is dumped into the Great Lakes.  With supporting the environment being one of Rotary International’s areas of focus, the Rotary Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup initiative is an effort to focus attention on the Great Lakes freshwater basin, one of our most precious resources.  Rotarians in 8 States and 2 provinces surrounding the Great Lakes are rolling up their sleeves and making this initiative one of the largest series of Great Lakes clean-up events ever held”, said Rotary International Past District 7070 Governor Ron Dick, a member of the Rotary Club of Oshawa.

“Rotary has a well-earned reputation for developing and implementing solutions that directly benefit all our communities.  This is an incredible initiative in its scale and goal to bring attention to the importance of environmental sustainability.  I could not be prouder of all 11 of our Rotary Club’s in the Durham Region for their commitment to making our world a little better, by investing their energy and time in this important endeavour,” commented John Henry, Regional Chair and CEO, Durham Region, and a member of the Rotary Club of Oshawa.

Trash, plastics and other littered items plague oceans, lakes, and rivers. This trash poses a threat to terrestrial and aquatic life, often becomes microplastics and harmful toxins, and pollutes one of the most precious and limited natural resources.

The Great Lakes contains almost 20% of the world’s freshwater and the Great Lakes System is arguably the largest source of fresh water on the planet.

“Cleanups of this nature are critical to reducing the amount of garbage that collects in our watersheds each year and to educate the public to the importance of protecting our waterways, to instill a sense of stewardship towards our Great Lakes and overall environmental sustainability,” Great Lakes Cleanup Chair Dan Coombes announced.

For more information, please contact: Dave Andrews at dave.f.andrews99@gmail.com