People strolling along English Bay yesterday stopped in their tracks to inspect three life-sized seals made out of garbage bags as part of a campaign to raise awareness about shoreline litter.
The sculptures — along with fish sculptures placed on a Toronto beach — were created by organizers of the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, which runs from Sept. 18 to 26.
“Left in the environment, litter has long-term impacts on our wildlife, including entanglement and ingestion,” said Vancouver Aquarium program manager Jill Dwyer. “Today’s events are designed to engage people’s emotions about the impact litter has within our waterways.”
Register for the cleanup at www.shorelinecleanup.ca.
Cleanup
The Great Canadian Shoreline cleanup is a conservation program started by the Vancouver Aquarium.
• The first cleanup took place in Stanley Park in 1994.
• In 2009, nearly 57,000 participants removed litter from 2,500 kilometres of shoreline.
• The most common items found are cigarette butts and food containers.
• Some of the most unusual items included Celine Dion albums, a message in a bottle saying, “Don’t litter,” a toilet seat nailed to a chair and a White Spot uniform.
