'It's really grunt work': Volunteers take down fences at Tin Can Beach
Tin Can Beach is a favourite walking spot for many south-end Saint John residents who enjoy its views of the harbour — but its pastoral scenery is scarred by the remains of its industrial heritage, and one community activist is trying to change that.
Barry Ogden says the efforts of volunteers are slowly helping the area rebound, hauling away truckloads of old railway ties last year. Now, they're tackling a rusted old fence at the site of the old Lantic sugar refinery.
"They left quite a mess," said Ogden, surveying a grassy field dotted with wildflowers where portions of the sagging fence stick out like a sore thumb.
Volunteers needed
Ogden put out a call on Facebook for anyone willing to help cut down the fence and take it away.
"I've had a lot of volunteers from people with steel cutters, to chainsaws," Ogden said, wielding his own pair of bolt cutters.
Some of the more problematic areas required much more than mere bolt cutters. Luckily, some of those answering his call, like Patrick Gommer and Rob Bradstock, arrived on scene with grinders. For the really heavy work, he was able to rely on Bill Ervin, who showed up with his backhoe.
"As a community member, it means a lot to me that we're looking after our city and tidying it up," Ervin said,
Ervin said residents can't rely solely on city officials to clean up areas, so he was more than willing to pitch in.
"We live in a great city and we need to look after it," he said.
Some people walking the trails said they appreciated the work the volunteers were doing. Evan Colepaugh uses the trails a few times each week, saying it allows one to "escape the city with a few steps."
Watching Ogden cutting up fencing in the distance, he said, "It's a lot of hard work, you can see he's doing a great job."
Ogden said the efforts of volunteers has paid off when it comes to cleaning up Tin Can Beach. Once a popular spot to dump garbage, the area sees less illegal tipping now.
"People start to take pride in the community" he said. "You can reverse the thinking by action."
