North End litter cleanup crew creates 'a big family within our community,' organizer says

Dozens of people hit the streets of Winnipeg's North End with disposable gloves and trash pickers on Saturday afternoon to clean up their community.

The cleanup targeted litter from Jarvis to Burrows avenues and between Arlington and King Streets. It was organized by the Elizabeth Fry Society, Anishiative and Strength in the Circle.

"When the snow started to melt, we noticed that there was a lot of garbage, and so we just started talking and decided to organize a cleanup for the neighbourhood," said Quinn Saretsky, who works with the Elizabeth Fry Society.

Saretsky said the cleanup was also a good opportunity for people to get outside on a beautiful day and give back to the community.

"I think it's really important," she said. "We've seen a lot of isolation from the pandemic, and people have been spending a lot of time inside."

Rylee Nepinak, who works with Anishiative, said events like the one on Saturday give young people a way to learn from and get involved with their community.

"For us, it means creating a big family within our community. We have a youth presence, we have an elder presence, we have men and women, all coming together," he said.

"It's so important, because those kids that are with us on these walks, it's going to stay in their mind. And they're going to really learn from this experience, and in the future, they're going to do it themselves."

Anishiative also organizes cleanups on at 5:30 p.m. every Tuesday near the Ralph Brown Community Centre on Machray Avenue and every Thursday by the Circle of Life Thunderbird House on Main Street.

The roughly 30 volunteers on Saturday maintained physical distancing and wore face masks.

Saretsky said she was happy with the turnout.

"It's really nice to see so many people out here," she said. "It's a good opportunity to just get people together and show that unity."