Wendy's Story

Eurasian Dove

The tranquil cooing of Eurasian Doves herald the entrance to Lewis Road, a quiet road approximately twenty-five kilometres south of Campbell River, west of South Island Highway. This is the Oyster Bay area of Campbell River. It's the territory I’ve adopted as a volunteer with Adopt-a-Block. I’ve been cleaning the boulevards on my street for two years and enjoy it because I am surrounded by the sounds of nature.

As I approach the end of my road, I listen to the soft neighing of horses. As I get closer, I watch them nodding their head and gazing at me with their soulful eyes. I interpret their look to mean, “We think you are doing a good job.” I find this particular area on Lewis Road to be picture postcard beautiful.

Most of my neighbours live on half-acre plots of land and burn wood for heat. Most of their papers and cardboard go to making their cozy fires in the winter months. Discarded papers are rare on my trek. Also, a lot of them have compost boxes so their vegetable peelings and fruit residue go into it.

I occasionally have to pick up soggy newspapers from the local Postal Unit Box, and at the end of my road if there has been a windstorm.

A note of humour is when I get to watch teenagers as they sleepily stagger up the road to catch the 7:45 a.m. school bus, which takes them to a school in nearby Campbell River. The looks of apathy on their young faces is hilarious. Pieces of toast hang out of their mouths while they are trying to drink copious amounts of liquid in a plastic bottle and at the same time answer their cell phones. It amazes me how everyone gets on that bus!

There is an elementary school about four blocks away from my home. Most of the younger students are pretty good about not throwing their apple cores or banana peels to the ground. I understand that they have a recycling program at their school.

All in all, I am very fortunate to live in such a reasonably quiet and neat area, aside from the odd “twit brain” who comes roaring up my street on their dirt bike, scaring me half to death. I can hear the roar of their engine while reading my paper in my kitchen at the back of the house.

Green seems to be the word in our Oyster Bay area, and Lewis Road rates a score of “l0” in my way of thinking in relation to the Adopt-a-Block program.

I will continue to monitor my area and perform my task with pleasure.

Wendy on Lewis Road

Wendy's Route on Lewis Road

Wendy's Lewis Road