Image supplied by Ross Aikenhead / July 10 / Four Wheel Drive Association members at Sunday's cleanup near Chilliwack Lake Rd.

By Laurice Gomes

Chilliwack cleanup

Volunteers undertake cleanup near Chilliwack Lake Rd.

Jul 12, 2022 | 6:00 AM

CHILLIWACK — Members of the Four Wheel Drive Association of B.C. spent the better part of Sunday cleaning up parts of the Camp Foley Recreation Site near Chilliwack Lake Rd.

One member of the group, Ross Aikenhead, said the objective of the non-profit is simple—to find a problem in the “bush” and deal with it as best as possible; and Sunday was no different.

“Two abandoned trailers, one was burned and the other one was partially destroyed,” Aikenhead said. “Homeless people use them to live in, and when something better comes along, they abandon the trailers, and then they get vandalized.”

Aikenhead, who is also a part of the planning committee for the group, said people wrecking abandoned RVs isn’t a foreign occurrence.

“People think it’s fun to set them on fire or rip them apart, and we go out and clean up the mess,” he said, matter-of-factly.

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Image: L. Gomes / PML / Some of the scrap metal collected.

Another member, Lyric Brooks-Hall, who works at Maple Ridge Chrysler, said the dealership was happy to support the cause by sponsoring the event.

“Cleanups and events like these are amazing because we are all like-minded people working toward the same goal—keeping our trails clean, safe, and open for use,” Brooks-Hall said.

He added that he grew up off-roading, exploring, and camping in the backcountry, so this was familiar ground. “I was raised around it and carried it on as a passion,” Brooks-Hall explained.

A native to Chilliwack, Aikenhead said he is happy to help with cleanups and his two dogs, Nikita and Dr. Zeus, are also a part of it.

Image: L. Gomes / PML / Ross Aikenhead with pups, Nikita and Dr. Zeus.

“I go up Chilliwack Lake Rd. fairly often with the dogs, and I go exploring and poking my nose in here and there to find these things,” he said. “Anybody can do this if you have the interest; I kind of got into it just on my own.”

For Sunday’s cleanup, Brooks-Hall said a rough estimate of garbage collected was approximately 2,200 lbs., and that’s excluding scrap metal.

“I’ve met a lot of really good people along the way, and obviously, the more you’re at it, the more connections you get, so that’s how I became involved with the Fraser Valley Illegal Dumping Alliance,” Aikenhead said. He further gave credit to Brooks-Hall for spearheading Sunday’s cleanup, and Maple Ridge Chrysler for their generosity in supplying lunch for the day and a vehicle to lug away everything collected.

Pointing to the metal scraps collected, Aikenhead said the money would go to a good cause.

“Scraps will be sold and the money I get from this will go to FCM Community Cat Trappers, which is a group that helps feral cats,” he said.

Image: L. Gomes / PML / Remnants of two abandoned trailers from Sunday’s cleanup.

For people interested in joining the group for future cleanups, more information can be found by visiting the Four Wheel Drive Association of BC website.