It takes an entire community to get the town of Inuvik looking good
Dawn Ostrem
Northern News Services
Inuvik (May 25/01) - It's nearly spring again in Inuvik.
And although we may think of lush green areas criss-crossed by babbling brooks, dabbed with colourful splatters of wild flowers, while a butterfly gently perches itself on one's shoulder, think again.
Like all urban areas, when the dirty snow melts what is uncovered is not the spring of fairy tales but the season of garbage details.
The Inuvik Beautification Project met Inuvik's soggy garbage problem with full force last year when clubs and organizations were paid to clean up a zone of town and businesses were encouraged to take a day to straighten up around shops.
"It has a lot to do with attitude," said Brian Desjardins, tourism co-ordinator. "Beautification week is a way of changing that attitude and promoting community pride.... A lot of people said compared to past years, last year was the best (the town) ever looked."
That positive attitude seemed to spread over Inuvik this year like the vast pools of water growing in yards and parking lots throughout the town.
"The community greenhouse can't keep up to the orders for flowers," Desjardins said.
The business clean-up day is May 31. Beautification Week runs May 25 to June 1 and during that time, most fees to take garbage to the dump are waived, a green citizen and business of the week are named and volunteer firefighters will be driving about with a trailer to pick up filled bags and otherwise lend a hand.
Desjardins hopes that the week will jump-start a community facelift that will carry on over the summer and into next year.
After the crushed cans, broken glass, weathered chip bags, faded cardboard and even abandoned vehicles are sent off to the nuisance grounds, banners, flags, signs and newly designed garbage bins will be carted in.
The welcome sign area will be spruced up with rocks and possibly eye-pleasing varieties of flora. A decision is still to come on whether the end-of-the-Dempster sign will itself be replaced.
The Boot Lake trail is also in for some new gravel courtesy of a personal grant Desjardins received for the project.
But for now, beautification awaits and time to begin is tomorrow.
