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MEDIA RELEASE

For Immediate Release:

Friends of McNabs Island Society

September 10, 2011

Lawlor Island Beach Cleanup scoops up X-country ski, fish bait boxes, paint brushes and more.

HALIFAX -Today 16 paddlers made their way to Lawlor Island for the annual Friends of McNabs Island Paddle & Cleanup . Volunteers from the Friends of McNabs Island Society and Canoe Kayak Nova Scotia landed along the beaches of Lawlor Island, which is part of McNabs and Lawlor Islands Provincial Park and gathered up debris that littered the shoreline.

In total, volunteers collected 130 bags of garbage and recyclables from the shores of the 55 ha island. Among the unusual items found on the beaches today were: a Fischer X-country ski, a few miss-matched hiking boots, a box spring mattress, paint brushes and paint cans, and large fish bait boxes. There was also plenty of more commonly found items such as plastic bags, Styrofoam sheets, old tires, Tim Horton's coffee cups and plastic tampon applicators.

For the past twenty years the Friends of McNabs Island Society has organized cleanups of McNabs and Lawlor Islands.  Since 1991, volunteers have collected over 10,130 bags of garbage and recyclables from the beaches of this Provincial Park.

Thanks to all the paddlers who ventured out to Lawlor Island today to clean up the beaches of this historic island that once served as a quarantine station for new Canadians arriving in Canada. Today the island is home to many wildlife species including great blue heron and white tailed deer.

FOR MEDIA INQUIRES CONTACT:

Catherine McCarthy
President, Friends of McNabs Island Society mcnabs@chebucto.ns.ca
www.mcnabsisland.ca
434-2254 evenings or 456-9167 cell