
A group of community volunteers got together recently to help clean up Kelowna's streets and parks.
Cleanup organizer Christopher Bocskei tells Castanet he started the initiative in the Rutland area in 2021.
"I volunteered at an elementary school garden and I saw some kids coming out of the park. A group of them came up and said they found some dangerous stuff where people had been camping. I looked and saw needles and other stuff there and I thought someone needs to take control of this," said Bocskei.
Since that time, he has organized a clean up twice a year in spring and fall to help keep Kelowna and specifically Rutland clean.
This week a group of volunteers including local politicians, MP Tracy Gray and her family, MLA Norm Letnick, and Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas all helped collect over 25 bags of garbage and filled 2 sharps bins.
"The worst spot was right beside McCurdy and Rutland Road, hidden in the bushes, (we found) a mattress a carpet and a whole bunch of debris," said Bocskei.
He says there was too much garbage and they had to call for help to haul it away.
"It was such a big mess. I was there with the mayor, and it was such a big mess it was just too much for us. We had to call the regional district because it was such a mess."
"A special shout out to Pat and Ria for their hard work on Fitzpatrick Rd. Volunteers donned vests, gloves and pickers donated by the RDCO," says Bocskei.