Published in The BANAR June 2025
Camille-Emmanuelle Purchase, BCA Director
On April 26, under grey skies and some rain, the spirit of community shone brightly in Blackburn Hamlet. Residents and volunteers of all ages braved the wet weather to take part in our annual Spring Clean-Up. Their commitment and teamwork turned a rainy day into a meaningful one, making a real difference in keeping our neighborhood clean and vibrant.
This year’s community clean-up saw over 85 dedicated volunteers gather outside the Community Hall, where they were assigned sections of the Hamlet to tidy up. Participants enjoyed light refreshments generously provided by our local Tim Hortons before setting out to collect litter from parks, roadsides, parking lots and even the Green’s Creek toboggan hill. Everyone was supplied with gloves and garbage bags, many of which were provided through the City of Ottawa’s Cleaning Up the Capital program. By the end of the day, the team had filled more than 68 bags of garbage, making a significant impact on the cleanliness and beauty of our community.
After the work was done, volunteers were treated to a delicious BBQ with hot dogs, hamburger, and cold drinks generously donated by the Blackburn Shoppers Drug Mart. A prize draw followed, featuring giveaways from the Blackburn Community Association and City Councillor Laura Dudas.
This event could not have been possible without the hard work of the volunteers, as well as the BCA team and others who gave their time to plan and set up before the event, handed out supplies, worked the grills and cleaned up the hall after it was all over. A big THANK YOU goes out to everyone involved in making this event a success and making Blackburn Hamlet a cleaner place to live and play this spring and summer.