Scott Hayes, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter | [email protected]
Jasper Hikes and Tours paid it forward on the weekend with their annual highway cleanup effort on Oct. 2.
The company, owned by Sean and Joy Prockter, sponsors a three-kilometre section of Highway 2 just outside the east gates of Jasper National Park.
On an unseasonably warm Sunday afternoon, it took four hours for the couple and two supporters to amass a collection of seven bags that weighed approximately 120 kilograms by his estimate.
No sweat, Sean Prockter said, even with such a small but hearty crew.
鈥淲e do it every year. We're managing the trash pretty readily,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e managed to do it in a reasonable amount of time, and we enjoyed ourselves, and so it's no big deal.鈥�
Most of the weight was occupied by a haul of random vehicle parts, including metal ball joints. He did find a driver鈥檚 license, for which he already called in to the RCMP in search of the rightful owner. Sometimes they find cash, but not this year. There were some kids鈥� toys and the odd single unmatched glove here and there.
There were the usual suspects: lots of cigarette butts and disposable Tim Hortons coffee cups, which he calls the most common fast food item out there on public roads. They also found disposable lighters with fluid still in them.
鈥淲hat I found interesting, other than the typical pee bottles from truck drivers and truck parts and cigarette butts, there were a lot of cigarette boxes,鈥� Prockter said.
鈥淚 guess once they finished their pack of cigarettes, they took the cigarette packet and tossed it. I found 15 myself. Joy was like, 鈥榃ell, I found at least 10.鈥� We must have pulled out 40 or 50. I don't remember finding that as an issue in the past.鈥�
Jasper Hikes and Tours adopted the section of the highway as a form of public service. When they are hiking in the backcountry, they pick up the garbage, so Prockter said this is simply an extension of that.
鈥淚 think giving back to the community is important in so many different ways. One way is just to beautify our backyard. Another way is to work on the trails and do trail work or trail maintenance. We do a lot that we try and give back to the community, and this is one way. This is a more organized fashion of doing what we do every day, basically.鈥�
He said that they would have preferred to adopt a segment of the highway inside the national park boundary but that isn鈥檛 allowed.
鈥淚f you just walk along the sides of the highway in the national park, it's dirtier than outside because nobody adopts those segments. It's unfortunate.鈥�
Even without many hands to help them with their dirty work, the Prockters did receive a few honks of appreciation with one person stopping to thank them personally.
As much as they enjoy the gratitude, there鈥檚 one thing that would make it even sweeter.
鈥淚t's interesting that people will say how appreciative they are. Easier said than done. I find that loads of people are appreciative, but don't actually go the extra step to do it themselves.鈥�
They plan to continue the highway cleanup effort in the years to come.
