On Aug 9, a group of around 20 people from three organizations gathered at Knox Landing in Bristol to pick up garbage in and effort to clean up some . . .

of the nearby islands.

Organized by Nature Conservancy Canada (NCC) and Friends of Chats Falls (FCF), the event served as an opportunity for locals to discover an area with a wide range of biodiversity and to maintain and conserve the natural beauty and health of the territory.

Around a month ago, people with NCC approached the FCF about picking up garbage on the islands surrounding some of the land owned by the organization.

Members of Gatineau Plein Air were on hand to inform the participants on the do’s and don’ts of water safety.

Before hitting the river, the crowd divided into three groups. One group used kayaks to navigate the choppy waves, another rowed with canoes where the current was smoother and the third group used motor boats to pick up the garbage piled up on the shoreline.

From debris left behind by passerby campers, to large pieces of scrap metal washed ashore from the floods, there was plenty of work to do throughout the day.

It was also the first glimpse of the islands for most of those who attended – a truly unforgettable experience, according to FCF President Michael McBane.

“It was spectacular,” he said. “It was beautiful. There’s this archipelago of islands just off Bristol and hardly anybody knows they’re there. It’s like going into a national park.”

For McBane, the most enjoyable aspect of the event was the people involved and the natural beauty of the landscape.

“It was breathtaking,” he said. “It’s close to home and very few people have ever seen it.”

The ability to witness such a remarkably unseen territory was something that reinforced the FCF and NCC’s goal of turning the area into a unique tourism destination.

“It made us want to protect the beauty,” he said. “FCF really wants this area to become a park, so that the public can have access and keep it protected.”

The municipality of Bristol will send a garbage truck to pick up the big pile of debris, McBane said.

Folks get set to start their cleaning expedition with their respective boats.

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