Grimsby and Lincoln News

Posted by Liz Fisk

HOW MANY ROTARIANS?

 
How many Rotarians does it take to clean up approximately 12,400 hectares of Great Lakes Watershed flowing into Lake Ontario? Well, apparently 28 + 31 + 8 = 67 Rotarians isn’t quite enough. 
 
That is why the Rotary Club of Grimsby in partnership with the Rotary Club of Lincoln have reached out to our joint broader community groups, governments, NGO’s and other service clubs.  They are leading a multi-community-wide effort to clean up the watersheds of the West Niagara Area. 
 
For the past month, a steering committee including Liz Fisk, Jim Howden, and Joan Whitson of the Rotary Club of Grimsby along with Phil Goodwin and Brenda Kell-Kotwa from Lincoln Rotary has organized over 15 partner groups to join together in a COVID-safe cleanup effort planned for Saturday morning, April 24th. 
 
 
Currently, over 35 specific cleanup locations have been identified, and more are expected over the coming weeks.  We anticipate well in excess of 200 people to participate area-wide.  To be COVID safe and anticipating that our Niagara Region may fall back into the ‘Grey Zone’ of social distancing protocols, teams of a maximum of 5 individuals, are being set up.   Using ClubRunner, volunteers will register for a particular location for a particular cleanup time.  Much as we all miss the community party atmosphere of previous cleanups, our clubs consider keeping all volunteers safe of prime importance.
 
Two additional streams of the cleanup effort include family neighbourhood cleanups and student-based cleanups.
 
A special website for the Great Lakes Watershed Cleanup of West Niagara is going live the weekend of March 27th, with the online volunteer registration being available the evening of Monday, March 28th.
 
Okay…so, what is a hectare? Our math wiz did the calculations.   Apparently, roughly 30,560 acres, or 124 square kilometers or 47.75 square miles.
 
Thank you, DG Frank, for such a brilliant idea to help us mobilize our communities; especially when everyone wants to do something to help and feel part of a larger effort!