2019 Annual Report

Annual Report 2019 23 EVENTS ƒ Adopt a River Cleanups – Three river cleanups with 1,075 volunteers participating and 14.5 tonnes of waste removed ƒ Biodiversity Projects – 15 biodiversity projects and events with approximately 475 students participating; 958 trees and 385 shrubs planted, thousands of chum salmon released, two salmon habitat ponds created, invasive species removed, nine photo monitoring stations installed, and 10 pet impact education signs installed ƒ Community Cleanups –Over 103 volunteer groups performing quarterly Adopt A Road cleanups; other one-time community cleanup events removed 8.2 tonnes of waste ƒ Free Soil Giveaway – BioCentral, operator of Parr Road Green Depot, gave residents 480 free bags of compost ƒ Green Commuter Challenge – Over 440 ballots submitted by participants to win a free bike ƒ Household Hazardous Waste Day – 9.7 tonnes plus 15,500 litres of hazardous waste responsibly disposed of by Terrapure Environmental Solutions, Product Care Recycling (Chilliwack Bottle Depot), and Schnitzer Steel (Viper Fuels); $1,800 cash donations plus 4,300 food items collected for the Salvation Army Food bank ƒ Pumpkin and Christmas Tree Composting – 170 trees and 100 pumpkins brought to the Parr Road Green Depot community drop-off option and collected through the Curbside Collection Program ƒ School Presentations – Five community/school presentations including one all-day school-wide outdoor classroom for 400 students from Vedder Elementary ƒ Semi-annual scrap metal recycling events – 133 tonnes dropped of from 1,482 customers ƒ Semi-annual City-Wide Garage Sales – 290 residences participated ƒ Semi-annual Shred-a-Thon and Food Drives – $16,498 cash donations plus 1,550 lbs. of food collected for the Salvation Army Food bank by residents dropping off documents for shredding ƒ Transit Driver Appreciation Day – Kids handed out cards for transit users to give to bus drivers to show appreciation Coho Overwintering Pond Construction A new overwintering pond was created for Coho salmon in Wilson Park in Yarrow for juvenile fish to seek refuge during strong winter flows on Stewart Creek. 300 students from Yarrow Elementary participated in a school-wide fieldtrip to plant hundreds of trees, shrubs, and emergent vegetation to enhance the new habitat. Environmental Services Hooge Road Salmon Rearing Pond Construction A new salmon rearing pond adjacent to the Vedder River was created near the Hooge Road parking lot by the Fraser Valley Watersheds Coalition in partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Resource Restoration Unit (DFO) and funders. The City assisted with acquisition of large woody debris, facilitation, trail closures, and community notifications. Curbside Glass Collection Bi-weekly, separate curbside glass collection to the 22,000 homes receiving curbside collection began in April. Grey bins were delivered to residents on the curbside program in March, and education continued through April, targeting non-program materials to reduce contamination (i.e. drinking glasses, window panes). An average of 38 tonnes of glass was collected each month from April through December. Illegal Dumping Reduction Environmental Services worked with Bylaw, Operations, Administration and community volunteers on several initiatives to reduce illegal dumping in 2019: ƒ Increased fines for illegal dumping from $200 to $500 ƒ Provided free disposal to volunteers who clean up illegally dumped material on riverbanks and other public land ƒ Launched an education campaign to raise awareness about free/low cost disposal options, reporting of and fines for illegal dumping ƒ Installed signage to deter illegal dumping ƒ Worked with UFV students on projects to create unique outreach materials ƒ Continued to collaborate with other members of the Fraser Valley Illegal Dumping Alliance