Londoners spring up to help with outdoor cleanups

Tom Cull doesn't mind taking out the trash, especially when scores of helpers arrive to roll up their sleeves and help.

"We love volunteers," said Cull, a Western University English professor who is also the director of Antler River Rally, a group that organizes regular spring cleanups of London's green spaces. 

On Sunday, 180 volunteers showed up and pitched in to pick up litter at Westminster Ponds on Wellington Road south of Commissioners Road. Cull was tickled with the turnout. 

"The city shut down one lane of Wellington so that we could get into the ditch ... so we were pretty thrilled," he said. 

The Antler River cleanups happen about once a month. You can find out more about the schedule here. The group posts the time and location of where the work is happening and even provides garbage bags. 

Cull admits that Sunday's cleanup got a boost from some fine spring weather and a partnership with Reforest London. 

But even with the weather assist, he's hopeful last weekend's turnout is an indication that Londoners are willing to volunteer their time to clean up the city's green spaces. 

The work isn't just about anesthetics; it's also about keeping harmful materials out of local waterways. 

"We don't want this stuff getting downstream and polluting the water," said Cull. "The cleanups helps prevent the harm that all kinds of pollution can cause in the environment." 

So how much trash do they gather in a typical haul? A few hundred large garbage bags isn't unusual after an afternoon of cleanup work. 

"It's way too much stuff," said Cull. "Unfortunately, the problem has grown." 

He said single-use plastics and Styrofoam always form a big part of what they pick up along with syringes. 

"We're seeing household items, batteries, technology, anything that you would put out with your trash, we're finding in and at the river," he said. 

Fishing line is another common find along the Thames River and one that poses a particular threat to birds. One year, a dead osprey was found hanging from a wire above the river with a mass of fishing line coiled around its neck.