Published on December 11, 2024
Spruce Up St. Albert 2024: A Year of Growth
It was a transformative year for Spruce Up St. Albert, as the initiative saw incredible growth and community engagement. This beloved program brought together residents, schools and businesses to celebrate and enhance the natural beauty of our city. From clean-up campaigns to creative green initiatives, St. Albertans united with passion and pride to make a tangible difference in our community.
Through collaboration and a shared vision, Spruce Up St. Albert 2024 not only improved our public spaces but also fostered a deeper sense of connection and environmental stewardship. As we look back on this year of growth, we acknowledge the dedication of our community members who helped make St. Albert a cleaner, greener, and more vibrant place to live, work, and play.
Partners in Parks
For three decades, the Partners in Parks program has been the foundation of Spruce Up St. Albert. Residents can connect with the greater community by adopting a public green space for the season and personally tending to the area from April to October. This year we had over 100 dedicated participants in the program, contributing 1,215 volunteer hours to beautifying St. Albert, and we look forward to welcoming even more next year!
Garbage Can Design Contest
The excitement of this annual contest was palpable this year. The theme, “The Vital Role of Pollinators”, inspired 17 teams to take on a unique design challenge with great enthusiasm! This resulted in beautiful one-of-a-kind garbage cans that animated our City parks throughout the year. With a staggering 5,365 votes cast, this year’s favourite design was awarded to the kindergarten class at Wild Rose Elementary School.
Arbor Day
The significance of Arbor Day was experienced on June 4 and 11 at Grosvenor Park, when over 1,000 grade one students participated in activities that showcased the role trees and natural spaces play in our daily lives. The interactive and educational event highlighted the City’s dedication to the conservation and protection of our trees and natural spaces and culminated with students being given white spruce tree seedlings, donated by the province, to take home and plant in their yard.
Neighbourhood Clean-up
Residents and community groups from across the city got into the weeds, committing to keeping their neighbourhoods looking their best. The City happily supplied gloves and garbage bags and encouraged volunteer involvement anytime during the clean-up season that best suited their schedules.
Schools were also encouraged to get involved. Students showed their school and civic pride by participating in spring and fall clean-ups. By tidying their schoolyards, they’re ensuring their fellow students and the surrounding neighbourhoods have clean green spaces to enjoy.
Weed Warriors
Our Weed Warriors were well equipped this year to tackle the peskiest of plants. Four educational workshops were initially planned to arm our warriors with the knowledge to identify and safely remove invasive species from our green spaces. Due to overwhelming interest, two additional workshops were offered and over 100 people participated throughout the summer months.
Clean and Green RiverFest
We were thrilled with this year’s turn out for Clean & Green RiverFest. This event reached an all-time attendance record with over 700 participants gathering together to protect and enhance the natural areas along the Sturgeon River. Thanks to your hard work, we collected nearly 500 bags of litter, planted 230 native trees and shrubs, and learned many new insights from our community partners.
Thank you to TD for sponsoring this program and to the dedicated St. Albertans who volunteered in our Spruce Up St. Albert program in 2024 and for your continued contribution and efforts towards enhancing green spaces. We look forward to seeing you again next year!
Learn more about the Spruce Up St. Albert program at stalbert.ca/spruceup
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Last edited: December 11, 2024