Saturday, April 17, 2000 was our fifth-annual Clean-up Day in the hills around Sooke. Over fifty people were on hand to assist on a morning that the weather forecasters predicted rain, but which turned out to be an agreeable mixture of sun and cloud, and decent temperatures.

We handed out maps to the various groups that pinpointed the trouble spots, and by 9:45 am, everyone had been dispatched. This year, since the Harbourview area seems to have escaped from major dumping, we sent only two vehicles there to pick up what they could between the trailhead and Shields Lake. The rest of us concentrated our efforts on the Butler/Boneyard Mainlines. A few people stayed close to the gravel pit where the dumpsters were located to deal with the huge piles of roofing materials that had been illegally dumped there. Before long, crews were returning to the dumpsters loaded with all manner of metal refuse and household garbage.

Much of this junk has been in the bush alongside the mainlines for many years. Included our finds were washers, dryers, fridges, freezers, stoves, lawn mowers, bicycles, exhaust systems, hot water tanks, mattresses, stolen vehicles, and lots of the yuckiest trash anyone can imagine. Many of the heavier items required the use of winches to haul them up the banks, and lots of strong backs to load them onto pickup trucks or trailers. One group came across a pile of trash that included some suspicious bones. The local Conservation Officer was summoned to positively identify the origin of what looked like the remains of a foot. Thankfully, they turned out to be from a bear.

By quitting time, both industrial-sized dumpsters were filled to overflowing.

At the end of the day, the Sooke Community Association provided the use of their campground for a wrap-up barbecue. This was the Island Rock Crawlers' way of rewarding all the tired and hungry people who helped out.

Our thanks go out to everyone who lent a hand, including club members and guests from all over Vancouver Island (some as far away as Comox!), and a group of students from Lester B. Pearson College in Metchosin. Most importantly, thanks to Sooke Disposal for once again providing dumpsters for us to fill, and for hauling them away at the end of the day.