Kevin Allerston
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 26/05) - Members of the Yellowknife Coast Guard Auxiliary spent Saturday afternoon cleaning up a section of Yellowknife River as a part of the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.

Graham Astbury, who recently moved here from Vancouver, B.C., helped organize the cleaning. In Vancouver he was involved in similar efforts.

"I had a good time doing this stuff down there and thought I would do it up here," he explains. He also said it is good for practicing shallow-water searches with the boats.

"It's a popular area and it's kind of a shame when there's garbage, so we just thought we would volunteer and clean up the shore line a little bit," said Lorne Gushue, who was also at the cleanup.

The team, six in all, recovered about 200 pounds of garbage, including what appeared to be an abandoned makeshift home, in the half kilometer they concentrated on. The event was sponsored by TD Bank.