Queen's grad students lend support to the TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup 

On September 23, 2008 GSES (Graduate Students for Environmental Sustainability) coordinated a site cleanup as part of the TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup. While the majority of participants in the cleanup were GSES members (biology and environmental studies students), a few grad students from other disciplines came out as well for a total of 11 participants.

The site chosen to clean was An Gorta Mor Park along the shoreline as it is a fairly small park and no other groups had registered to clean there. GSES decided that rather than focusing on a large park, which would perhaps allow for a greater number of participants, a smaller group focusing on a park that would otherwise be neglected was just as important.
Several curious park visitors were supportive of the initiative and were interested in finding out more about the type of garbage found. Participants in this particular cleanup also expressed support for the initiative and felt it was a very rewarding experience to be able to participate. They were also happy to be able to get out of the office on what turned out to be a beautiful, sunny day!   GSES were able to collect about 2 garbage bags full of trash (10lbs) and a bag of recyclables in an approximate 500m distance covered.
The TD Shoreline Cleanup is a national conservation initiative that encourages Canadians to have a positive impact on their local environment by removing harmful debris from the local shorelines of ponds, streams, rivers, lakes, or oceans.