Kincardine woman on a mission to weed flower beds, rake the beach

Darlene Stevens is a one-person army when it comes to weeding flower beds and raking the beach.

The Kincardine woman began to tidy things up this summer because she was tired of the areas by the beach looking so weedy, given that this area is supposed to be a tourist attraction.

"I worked on three flower beds beside Dunsmoor Park because they were full of weeds and nothing was being done," says Stevens. "Then, I raked the beach beside the boardwalk there because it was covered in debris."

She was told the Lions Club extended the boardwalk with the understanding that the Municipality of Kincardine would take care of it.

"We've been getting some help from Chris Hartwick of the parks department," says Stevens. "He helped by bringing a truck down and hauling away the weeds and debris." She also had two students from the parks department help weed the flower beds along the boardwalk.

"I think the municipality just needs to be more aware of what needs to be done," says Stevens. "It's not just grass-cutting and whipper-snipping. It's beach-cleaning, and weeding flower beds in all the public areas around town."

Fortunately, Stevens is not alone in her endeavours. Tuesday night, Aug. 22, she had five helpers, Lise and Ben Blais, Scott Stevens, Carole Bylsma and April Finney, working together to weed the rocks on the east side of the Kincardine Pavilion.

One thing she does get tired of cleaning up, is cigarette butts. She urges smokers to clean up after themselves, and keep their mess off the public boardwalks and beaches.

To help keep the flower beds and beach areas tidy, Stevens is organizing one-hour clean-up nights, every Tuesday at 7 p.m., with volunteers meeting at the first gazebo at Station Beach. Those interested, can contact her at darlenes@bmts.com

Meanwhile, recreation director Karen Kieffer says Station Beach gets groomed a couple of times throughout the summer, and on a regular basis, the parks staff cleans up the beach.

"Staff was not aware that the beach was unsightly as we get many comments from beach-goers that they appreciate the 'natural' look of the beach," she says. "We will continue to keep an eye on the beach to ensure it remains a pleasant experience for all its users."

With regards to the Kincardine Pavilion flower beds, Kieffer could not say who was responsible to keep those tidy, but would investigate that concern.

"The horticulture department is responsible for the hanging baskets, barrels, flower beds, and so on, throughout the entire municipality," says Kieffer. "Additional beds have been created in the past few years with a focus on being low-maintenance yet beautiful to help employees keep up with what they are already looking after."

Kieffer says volunteers are essential to the well-being of a community and staff appreciates their efforts. "If there is continued interest in this area, we would co-ordinate a volunteer group going forward where the volunteers would report to the horticulturist who would create an organized effort between staff and volunteers with the continued common goal of making our municipality beautiful."