When I first sat down and started going through this mass of files that I have inherited from employees of the TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup past, one note caught my attention and has stuck with me since. It was a brief message from the coordinator for one of our sites in White Rock, as they were cleaning up Mud Bay Shore, BC on September 22, 2001, they came across an item most unusual. A message in a bottle.

Actually, it wasn’t just a message in a bottle, but the ashes of one recently deceased resident of White Rock. The message that was included….

As any humanitarian would do, they scattered the ashes and then contacted this man’s son. His response follows:

So I would like to challenge people to write in about what has been the most interesting thing that they have found along the beaches and shorelines over the last 15 years. There are rumours that a house was found in a local creek. Other items found include shopping carts, dirt bikes, computers, lost art, an engagement ring, if you can name it, we’ve probably found it.

Like every year, I invite you to take up the opportunity to mine the shores of our oceans and waterways through Vancouver Aquarium’s TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup, our 15th annual weeklong cleanup runs Saturday, September 20th through until Sunday, September 28th, in conjunction with the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup. Find a location near you and claim it as your own, or join an existing cleanup.

PS: Just a quick update to let you, we’ve just joined Facebook, become a Fan of Vancouver Aquarium’s TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.

Click here to find us:

Don’t forget to upload your photos to the TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup Flickr Pool!