Chilliwack – David Ardill is the outgoing director and the vice chairman of the Chilliwack/ Vedder River Cleanup Society. In a social media post onb February 1, he announced that for him, it is time to move on from the never ending work of cleaning up encampments and the garage that comes with it.
From Facebook: After 14 years as a director and 12 years as the vice chairman of the Chilliwack/ Vedder River Cleanup Society I submitted my notice that I will be stepping down. As a group we have done some amazing work cleaning up all along the river and in the Chilliwack Valley and continue to do so. The challenges facing us have changed dramatically over the years and now primarily focus on the cleanup and remediation of squatter camps in the Valley. This is extremely frustrating work and seems to have no end in part due to our provincial government’s decision to take a reactive approach rather than a pro-active approach. It is difficult to watch our wild spaces polluted and ruined with no consequences for the people responsible for the damage. But we persevere as doing nothing is just not an option. I urge the residents of British Columbia to take the time to write or call their local MPP’s and demand action on these issues knowing we are at a crisis point. This is a province wide problem and must be treated as such. I will continue to take part in spot and scheduled cleanups and I’m extremely proud of the work of all the volunteers who care deeply about our amazing and wonderful resources and do their best to make a difference. You have succeeded.
A replacement has yet to be announced.
