Penticton program seeking volunteers to partner in park clean up

PENTICTON – The City of Penticton is stepping up a program inviting local residents to participate in clean up of the city’s parks.

Parks Supervisor Todd Whyte says the adopt a park program has been in operation for several years, but recently the city has been making a stronger push for more community involvement in city parks.

The program has volunteers, who can be individuals or an organization or service group, signing up for as little as one outing a year for an annual clean up, to a few minutes a day or completion of weekly activities related to park cleanup.

The list of clean up items for volunteers includes picking up litter and pine cones, or clean up of the dog parks.

Volunteers can also work on invasive week control and other special projects.

Public works manager Len Robson says the program has been in official operation since 2009.

The work performed by the volunteers is supplemental to regular operations of public works employees and hasn’t been an issue with city staff unions.

In spite of recent attention regarding the drug epidemic and disposed needles in public places, sharps collection is not part of the volunteer’s current list of duties.

However, Robson says a group wanting to volunteer for such an effort would be given city support following a demonstration of capability to pick up and dispose of sharps properly.

For more information on the program, see this city website.

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