Numbers up for Clean Up

Eurobodalla is a another step closer back to its beautiful self after more than 200 volunteers cleared rubbish from 37 sites across the shire on Sunday.

Clean Up Australia’s Eurobodalla coordinator Maree Cadman said the shire usually had a good turn-out for the event but was pleased to see numbers up this year, with 208 volunteers.

“Last year we had around 160 people on the day,” Ms Cadman said, “so it’s great to see people moving on from the fires and giving up their time to get our shire back to its lovely best.”

Sunday saw 193 bags of rubbish and an additional 16 cubic metres in bulky items collected. Ms Cadman said students from 12 of the shire’s schools had done their bit on Friday, with many choosing clean-up sites outside school grounds; beaches and reserves, skateparks and BMX tracks.

“We also did something different this year for the recovery effort, with Love the Bay vouchers donated to our volunteers,” Ms Cadman said.

“They were really well received. There were a few tears when they were given to some families who really needed them after the fires.

“We also had Liam Rankine – community relationship manager from the Clean Up Australia’s head office – visit for the day, helping out at Mogo, Long Beach and Corrigans. He was here to support our Eurobodalla Clean Up volunteers, recognising the tremendous effort our shire has made for more than 25 years.”

Ms Cadman said it was disheartening to find freshly-dumped rubbish in recently burnt areas.

“Now more than ever we need to help our bush along and this year’s Clean Up was a great start,” she said.