Around 99 people gathered to help keep the local community waste-free at this year's clean up on April 26.
"People worked really hard, and we got lots of garbage picked up," said Dana Stark a member of the Nechako Waste Reduction Initiative, the group that ran the event.
"Everyone was enthusiastic. We had families come together, (and) lots of new people in town, they came out, which was really nice to see," Stark said.
She added while they could not pick up every item of trash in the community, volunteers made a major difference to the local area.
Attendance numbers were down slightly from last year's turn out of roughly 119. However, Stark said she noticed some people did not register, yet still helped in the clean-up, picking their own areas to cover.
Meeting at Riverside Park in the morning, groups picked areas of Vanderhoof to tackle, with waste being collected by the District of Vanderhoof following the event. Recyclables collected were donated to the family of Jay Preston Raphael, a missing man and member of the Saik’uz First Nation, to aid in search efforts, said Star.
Participants then gathered back at the park around noon for lunch and treats, marking the return of the barbecue portion of the event since the pandemic.
"It was really nice to see the barbecue back again. I think that was a really big hit with people," said Stark.
The event was supported by the District of Vanderhoof, Integris Credit Union, Vanderhoof Tim Hortons and Pitch-In Canada.
