Photo: Kane Blake

Some of the potentially contaminated building material removed from Postill Lake Road in early April 2025.

The Okanagan Forest Task Force is celebrating a very successful kickstart to the cleanup season.

OFTF's third annual fundraiser on Saturday brought in nearly three times as much money as last year. Founder Kane Blake says they raised $20,000 thanks to donations from the community.

“I would love to thank all of the amazing businesses that donated prizes to help us raise $20,000 to keep the Okanagan Forest Task Force going,” wrote Blake in a Facebook post. “Many, if not all of the businesses have seen all the hard work this group is doing and are beyond happy to help support our mission.”

The list of dozens of donors who gave raffle prizes and cash includes everything from autobody shops to wineries to grocery stores.

In 2024, the event raised $8,000 to help finance the volunteer group that plays a major role in keeping the Central Okanagan backcountry clean.

This year, the season is just getting underway as snow melts from the hills. A few weeks ago, OFTF teamed up with Talon Environmental Services and Epoch Environmental Consulting on an unusual mission to dispose of a dump of building material found up Postill Lake Road that could have contained asbestos and lead.

Last year, OFTF picked up 303,433 pounds of trash from the wilderness, including nearly 155,000 pounds of metal. Volunteers also put out several campfires that were left unattended.