Bonnie The Mascot

I'M HONOURED to be the mascot for the Adopt-a-Block project.

Hi, my name is Bonnie The Birch, and in August 2012, Susan, the organizer of the venture, adopted me. She’s been exploring my origins and has recently discovered that I am a Paper birch. I’m known for my small to medium size, with many stems and can stand up to 30 metres tall.

At one point in my life, a man using a handsaw truncated me. I could only let the event happen. He dragged away my top half and let me stand at five feet. I 'm living on the boulevard on Dogwood Street, my slender trunk with its distinctive curve reaching for the sky. Several of my lower branches remained, most with my egg-shaped leaves still attached.

If you step up to me, at the time when my leaves appear, you’ll see my flowers. They are either male or female and are in the narrow catkins. My female catkins are two to four centimeters long, standing erect at the tip of my branch. My male catkins are longer and hang below the branch. I welcome the energy you bring when you stand next to me and touch my leaves for a closer look.

I am a fruit-bearing tree. The nutlets have wings broader than the seed and I produce thousands of seeds. If I’m in good health, you’ll see hundreds of seeds at my base.

Here’s a little something you might like to know: My seeds are much loved by many species of birds.

Until next time, Bonnie The Birch

Nutlets with wings

This sketch of an Alaskan Paper birch shows the size of my very similar nutlets.

My leaves and catkins. Males hanging down, females at the end.

Six Blocks, One Garbage Tong

OUR NEWEST ADOPT-A-BLOCK VOLUNTEER, JOHN P., sent me a great message.

“I did my 6 block loop from the house, only got 3/4 of a bag today...2 beer cans,1 liquor bottle and a wiper blade. I count cigarette butts (i hate butts) 46.”

John, along with his wife and their dog, treks approximately three kilometres starting from the corner of Thulin Street and Evergreen Road, west to McLean Street, north to 2^nd Avenue, east back to Thulin Street, a westward jag onto 1^st Avenue, south on Murphy Street and back home via Evergreen Road.

Like John, many of the volunteers remove trash from the sidewalks and boulevards of Campbell River even in the winter. A person who is service driven performs his or her duty as commonly as they live life.

Mr. Rogers said it simply: “Life is for service.”

~ Fred Rogers, Life's Journeys According to Mister Rogers: Things to Remember Along the Way

John and family's six block route

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

Garbage Can Campaign

TOSSED STRAWS AND BIG GULP CUPS, sopping wet discarded pizza boxes and hundreds of other bits of trash covered the sidewalks and boulevards on the 4.7 kilometre trek made by one of our Adopt-a-Block volunteers. She willingly picked up each bit of rubbish and placed it carefully in her large plastic bag. The more she dropped into her sack, the heavier it became.

Her search for a public garbage can became her second mission. Unfortunately, her journey from the 1300 block of South Island Highway, north on Galerno Road, west on Lai Road, north again on South Murphy Street, west on Pinecrest Road, north on South Alder Street to Evergreen Road gave her no opportunity to place her heavy bag into a receptacle.

To her great appreciation, a garbage can stood on the boulevard just north of Steiner Bakery on 231 Dogwood Street. She heaved the large bag into it and opened up her reserve plastic container to collect more trash until she arrived at her friend’s home.

All Campbell River citizens should have the confidence that the City of Campbell River, at the very least, could afford to place a garbage receptacle at each bus stop. Collaboration and cooperation between Campbell River Transit and the City of Campbell River would benefit all people of this fine city.

Imagine a garbage can at every bus stop.

Round concrete garbage can

Speak with City Hall about a garbage can in your neighbourhood.

Twenty-five cents. Is it Worth It?

TODAY, I EARNED TWENTY-FIVE CENTS picking trash from the sidewalk and boulevard along my 1,000-metre trek from 4^th Avenue to 2^nd Avenue along Dogwood Street. I get beeps, waves and thumbs-up gestures from people in their vehicles. I smile back. At my halfway point, I stop and check on the condition of Bonnie the Birch, our Adopt-a-Block mascot. Today, she surprised me with a shiny quarter at the base of her trunk.

“Thank you, Bonnie,” I said.

I heard someone approaching from behind and turned to see a pleasant looking women walking at a quick pace. She stopped beside me.

“Good morning,” she said.

“Good morning,” I said.

“You do a good job. You probably get good exercise too,” she said.

“Thanks. I like being outside in this weather,” I said.

She patted me on the back and continued on her swift stride.

I carried on, kicking my plastic bucket along the sidewalk, reaching around for discarded stuff and humming a familiar tune.

♫ Always Look on the Bright Side of Life ♫ by Monty Python

It's worth it.

Winter Bonnie

IN ALL THE EXCITEMENT of having our photograph taken with Bonnie the Birch, our Adopt-a-Block mascot, it caused me to make a short movie about her life, so far, in the winter months. As luck would have it, we got a beautiful covering of snow which hides the trash for a short while.

Bonnie the Birch and her volunteers

Behold, Service is Joy

OUR NEW FRIEND, Ms. Sian Thomson, a reporter with Courier-Islander, took time from her busy schedule to recognize the Adopt-a-Block volunteers on Friday, December 14, 2012.

We gathered at Bonnie the Birch, our faithful mascot on Dogwood Street, and had our photo taken with her. We held on securely to our garbage tongs, some of us sported a Visi-Vest while others clutched garbage bags. It was sunny enough for some to wear sunglasses.

The newspaper posted a short-version tale of our passion for removing trash from the sidewalks and boulevards of Campbell River. Some volunteer enthusiasts have adopted empty lots and corner plots. Tidying up is what makes us feel good.

I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. 

I acted and behold, service was joy.

Rabindranath Tagore

Service can bring great joy.