By Stephen Vance, Staff
When local business owners Angela and Chris Parrish approached the Municipality of Meaford to inquire about an Adopt a Road program, they learned that Meaford didn’t have one.
They had hoped that their business, Advanced Aluminum, could adopt a section of their road on the 7th Line, to help keep the road and ditches free of debris. However, the current County program only covered existing county roads and highways. That was two years ago.
On April 18, as part of Meaford’s second annual Earth Week initiative, the municipality will roll out a new, made-in-Meaford program in conjunction with Transition Meaford.
The new Meaford initiative will increase the scope of the traditional Adopt a Road program which has been implemented in many areas across Canada, and it will avoid the $100 cost of roadside signs crediting those who have adopted a given road. Instead of roadside signs, those who sign up to help care for a particular area, road, or park will be recorded in the municipal volunteer database, and will be recognized at Meaford’s annual volunteer appreciation day.
The Parrishes, who have already been hard at work caring for their road for the last two years, welcome the new initiative in Meaford, and they are challenging other business owners to get involved as well.
“I walk our road several times per week, so I usually take a bag with the stroller and pick up garbage as I go,” Angela Parrish told The Independent. “In the spring and fall we do a thorough, full stretch.”
Parrish says that aside from the typical cans, bottles, and coffee cups, she has picked up items ranging from licence plates, to rear-view mirrors, and even a car muffler. The municipality provides bright green trash bags – which are collected at no charge on her regular garbage day – for those who volunteer to keep an area of the municipality clean, and Parrish says that roughly 80 percent of what she picks up at the side of her road is recyclable, so when she returns home, she sorts what she’s collected into the appropriate bins.
Even though the Meaford program doesn’t include roadside recognition on signs, Parrish feels that it is important for as many people as possible to participate, and help keep Meaford tidy.
“In all honesty, we were hoping to have a sign put up because we have our own local business, and we wanted people to know that we are involved, but when we were told we couldn’t do that, I thought that was fine, I just hope that other small businesses hear about it and get involved,” said Parrish.
Anyone wanting to volunteer to help maintain their own road or area park can contact Brady Carbert at the Municipality of Meaford.
