60-minute clean-up takes place on Thursday, April 21

What:

The ViSTA (Victoria Sustainable Tourism Alliance) founding members Inn at Laurel Point, Harbour Air Seaplanes, and Eagle Wing Tours have submitted a challenge for the fifth consecutive year to local Victoria businesses to get involved in the annual Earth Day Power Hour by picking up refuse in their chosen location on Thursday, April 21. 

Each of the three founding members of ViSTA are carbon neutral organizations, committed to sustainability and championing the efforts of other tourism businesses to help ensure the city is a leader in environmental awareness.

The winners of the competition (the top team to pick up the most refuse in a one-hour window) will be awarded the coveted ‘Golden Garbage Award’. All refuse and recyclables collected during the challenge will be responsibly recycled and disposed of using separate bins for garbage, mixed fibres (paper/cardboard) and mixed containers (tin/plastic).

While not required, the majority of teams dress up, ranging from corporate wear to themed-costumes. Eagle Wing Tours is headed by Neptune (look closely and you’ll recognize owner Brett Soberg), bringing attention to their task of cleaning up the beach along Dallas Road. Other teams have arrived for the celebrations in togas or garbage bags (the group still isn’t sure if they understood the concept).

Why:

To help raise awareness about Earth Day (Friday, April 22, 2016), local businesses are encouraged to sign up for the Earth Day Power Hour, helping to keep their neighbourhood clean by picking up refuse over the noon hour.

When:

Thursday, April 21, 2016

·         11:59 to 12:59 p.m. – Garbage pickup (businesses across Victoria to compete in one-hour challenge)

·         2 p.m. – Awards ceremony (top collector named and given coveted Golden Garbage Award) at Inn at Laurel Point.

Where:

·         Participating businesses select their desired location to pick up refuse, including:

o   Laurel Point

o   Dallas Road waterfront (Clover Point to the Breakwater)

o   The Inner Harbour upland areas between the Visitor Centre and Harbour Air Seaplanes

o   The beach in front of the Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort & Spa

Available for interviews:

·         Avril Matthews, Inn at Laurel Point

·         Brett Soberg, Eagle Wing Tours: brett@eaglewingtours.com

·         Vanessa Johnson, Harbour Air Seaplanes

Additional information:

·         To compete in the contest, businesses count the number of pieces collected (for example, one cigarette butt equals one piece).

·         Earth Day is the world’s largest and most celebrated environmental event. Each year, more than six million Canadians join 1 billion people in more than 170 countries in staging events and projects that address local environmental issues.

·         Earth Day was first launched in 1970 in the United States as an environmental awareness event (the first International Earth Day was celebrated in 1990). In Canada, Earth Day has grown into Earth Week and even Earth Month to accommodate the influx of environmental-related events and projects.

·         For more information: https://www.facebook.com/ViSTAvictoria

·         Follow #CleanUpYYJ for real-time tweets during the event and awards presentation.

  

Media Contact:

Brian Cant, Tartan Group: 250-592-3838 or brian@tartangroup.ca