Keeping it clean in Baker Lake
The hamlet of Baker Lake takes pride in its appearance and holds a two week community cleanup every year to keep itself looking shiny and new.
Community cleanup co-ordinator Mark Oklaga said the cleanup did very well during its first week of June 17 to 21.
He said the crew is right-on schedule, being pretty much halfway through the community.
“I have a lot of volunteers this year, so things are going really well,” said Oklaga. “We have lots of young people out this year and old people too.
“Our community really gets into the cleanup almost every year. It's been around quite awhile. I would volunteer for this when I was a kid. I've been doing it every year since I was a young teen and I'm just turning 21, so I've been at it for about eight years now.”
Oklaga said he thinks the cleanup is important to Baker Lake because it helps keep the community clean and safe.
He said it's also important because it gives people more pride in their community.
“We also have a big draw at the end of the cleanup for a pair of Calm Air tickets for anywhere the airline flies. So a number of people volunteer to have a chance at having their name drawn and that's OK too.
“As long as people volunteer their time and our community cleanup goes well, that's really what matters.”
Oklaga said he's not really sure how much garbage, weight wise, gets picked up every year, but it's a lot.
He said so far, the volunteers are gathering more garbage then they did in 2023.
“We do the whole community, of course. We start from the west side of town and make our way east. When we're done, we've covered everywhere in the community.
“I show-up every year and I'll continue to do so as long as I live here. It makes the town look so much better. Last year, for some reason, I was only getting about two volunteers a day, but this year its been about 12 or 13 volunteering every day.
“It was pretty hard last year, but it's been pretty good this year. We get it done so much faster with more volunteers coming out every day.
“I just saw people cleaning up when I was a kid and decided to join them. When I first joined, I won a few prizes and that made we want to keep going so, maybe, I'd win a few more prizes. I've been doing it every year since.”
Darrell Greer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Kivalliq News
