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Students! Staff! Faculty! Administrators! Want to help save the planet while getting free food and the chance to win cool prizes?

Join the Pictou County’s Go Clean Get Green Campaign through the ‘rally in the valley’ [note: this is the East River Valley, in Pictou County]!

‘C.L.U.B.  E.R.V.’ –the acronym for Changing Littering’s Unkind Behaviour in the East River Valley—was a project launched in 2014 in the East River Valley (the “ERV”) of Pictou County. The pilot project engaged youth, from grade Primary through university age, with the aim to identify possible avenues to induce change – to change littering behaviour to not-littering behaviour.

  C.L.U.B. E.R.V., funded in 2014 through a grant from the Fulbright Canada-RBC Eco-Leadership Program, involved the students in Rural Studies 4009 in May 2014. Their litter pick-up research and writing project was also supported by the volunteer efforts of several East River Valley groups and individuals. The initiative is now running on its own steam, and Phase II has the initiative sporting a new moniker and broader mandate:  club earth / club la terre!

The newly-named anti-littering initiative, club earth / club la terre, will have its first event this month, with the aim to create awareness through the whole year with events and activities from May 2015 through until Earth Day, 2016.

Walkers, hikers, and cyclists are invited to come do a litter pick up – a ‘rally in the valley’—beginning  at la Ferme Roche de fer/Iron Rock Farm, near Sunnybrae, in Pictou County, on the morning of Thursday, May 21^st.

Folks who like to bike or walk should sign up by May 16th for the May 21^st event by calling (902) 923-2776 or 893-6705, or by emailing Deborah.Stiles@dal.ca.

The litter pick up begins with an optional, early morning woods hill hike at the farm, beginning at 6 a.m.

The optional hike will be followed by the FREE Carole Ann Robinson memorial breakfast from 7-9 am, also at la Ferme Roche de fer/Iron Rock Farm, to start the conversation on stopping littering on a gustatory note.

After breakfast, the cycling-walking litter pick-up team happening – a ‘rally in the valley’ will go from 9-noon, from Sunnybrae on through the East River Valley.

This inaugural event for club earth/club la terre - a litter pick up ‘rally in the valley’- will give folks a chance to see the beautiful East River Valley in early spring, while also helping to tidy up a bit after the winter we’ve had!  For more details, or to sign up to participate, contact Deborah Stiles at (902) 893-6705 or 902-923-2776, or email Deborah.Stiles@dal.ca.

Participation is limited, due to logistics, so anyone who’d like to join in on May 21^st is asked to email or call by May 16^th. All participants will receive a travel mug; other prizes will also be given for the most litter picked up in the least amount of time, the longest span covered, the most creative use of the bicycle to haul litter loot, and other accomplishments.

An extra incentive for doing good is also part of this ‘rally in the valley’:  for every kilometre each individual walks/cycles and litter-picks that day at this event, an anonymous donor will donate $10 per km to PWS&D/UNHCR relief efforts in Nepal – which contributions (because of the timing of rally) will be doubled by the Canadian government!