The Okanagan Forest Task Force (OFTF) has turned a scrap yard into an area for wildlife to enjoy safely.
After a year of cars and junk rotting out at a site off Postill Lake Road in Kelowna, OFTF crews came together to clean up the area that is often traversed by wildlife.
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On May 9, the cleanup crew removed 29,100 pounds of scrap metal and 8,311 pounds of illegally dumped garbage for a total of 37,411 pounds, making it one of the largest cleanups in OFTF history, according to Kane Blake, founder of the non-profit.
“Many of the vehicles had been there for a year or more, slowly getting destroyed,” said Blake.
“The people doing this couldn’t care less about the environment or the effects that it could have. It is so amazing to see wildlife back in that area and it so clean for them. Without the amazing volunteers, this wouldn’t have been made possible.”
Due to volunteers cleaning the area, wildlife is no longer walking through garbage and burnt vehicles to get to drinking water.
The Okanagan Forest Task Force has been working on bringing awareness to illegal dumping and the impacts it has on wildlife and forests. Since September of 2016, OFTF has removed over 23,000 pounds of illegally dumped garbage and metal.
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