Around a dozen residents pitched in to help clean up D’Aubigny Creek Park during a Shellard Neighbourhood Association Earth Week event on Saturday, April 25, 2026.
With gloves on and garbage bags in hand, Darryl Casey, chair of the local neighbourhood association, said the event was all about bringing the community together for a good cause.
“Today, we’re doing our part. We wanted to do this on the 25th because there were so many efforts on April 18 with the city, so we figured we’d come out a week later to see what we could do for the park and to keep those efforts going,” he said. “D’Aubigny Creek is a cold-water stream that is part of the Grand River watershed, and the park itself is a main activity hub for all the soccer teams that come down, so getting volunteers out here to make sure this place looks good would be great for Brantford.”
Casey went on to say while they had only been there for a short amount of time, he and the other volunteers had already picked up a significant amount of litter and trash.
“The amount of garbage we’re finding in just a small area is incredible. So far, we’ve been finding a lot of plastic, and the problem with that is the plastic will degrade and inevitably work its way into our water system,” he explained. “That’s a big issue because not only does that affect the trout population that live in D’Aubigny Creek, but the other fish and aquatic life in the Grand River too, as well as the birds that live off those fish. We need to be more responsible for our environment. The amount of garbage we’ve picked up in a half an hour is unsustainable, and that’s a lot of plastic going through our ecosystem if nobody’s picking it up.”
Casey said that although the amount of trash they were seeing was unfortunate, he was pleased to see community members coming out to participate in the event, and that he would likely hold another some time in the future.
“Volunteerism in Brantford is amazing and I’m so grateful to have these folks out here helping today, but the effort continues,” he said. “This is a big park, the trails are used every day and I would like to be able to get back there and clean them up because that’s where you see a lot of the problems. If we don’t get this all done today, we’re going to hold another event to see if we can get more people out. We may have a small number of volunteers today, but with better weather, I think we’ll get a lot more and be able to really get the job done.”
Casey said after sharing details about the event with the community, the Navy League of Canada – Brantford Branch, quickly got on board.
When asked why it was important for the organization to get involved, Rod Philpot, an officer with Navy League Cadet Corps Admiral Landymore, said it was all about teaching the youth to give back to their community.
“Teaching the kids to be good members of society and being civically minded is actually one of our core tenets, that’s why we really encourage the kids to get involved with community service,” he said. “That’s why we have some cadets out at the City’s tree planting event in the north end, as well as some here, and that’s really why we do a lot of the things that we do. It promotes caring about where you’re from, and being a good citizen.”
His daughter, Keanna Rodrigues-Philpot, added that no matter how big or small of an effort you’re making to help out, every bit counts.
“You often see people online spending thousands of dollars to clean up and improve a park or to fix water supplies, and while that can be so motivating to see, a lot of people can’t afford to do those kinds of things,” she said. “I think helping out in your own community is actually a great way to, not only to stay involved and stay connected, but to see what challenges there are in the community and to help out in small ways by voicing your concerns to other people on larger issues.”
Cynthia Dockree, who was there with her son Brett, shared similar sentiments,
“Voluntering doesn’t have to be the same grand gesture that everybody’s doing,” she said. “If you go to a park or you’re out on a walk, try to leave the place better than how it was when you got there, it really can be that simple.”
In all, the group managed to pick up enough trash to fill 31 garbage bags in just two hours. They also cleaned up the remnants of a deserted encampment, pulled a shopping cart out of the creek, and found one abandoned walker and two large construction pylons.
Casey said that he hopes the community effort will inspire other residents to get involved and help out where they can.
“This park should really be a crown jewel and I would love to see it cleaned up for the community. Hopefully next time, someone will see we’re doing this and will want to come out,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for people to get involved, and I think it’s a great teaching moment for the next generation too.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
