On April 22nd, in recognition of Earth Day, Long Beach Lodge Resort teamed up with the District of Tofino, Tourism Tofino and our local Surfrider Chapter to clean up a section of the multi-use path that runs alongside Highway 4.
Words fail to describe how special it is to be located on a coastline where eagles soar overhead, whales breach on the horizon and storms have sculpted the terrain. Without the pristine environment that surrounds it, Long Beach Lodge Resort just wouldn’t be the same. That’s why we take part in initiatives that aim to preserve the beautiful landscape of which we’re so grateful to be a part.
On April 22nd, in recognition of Earth Day, we teamed up with the District of Tofino, Tourism Tofino and our local Surfrider Chapter to clean up a section of the multi-use path (affectionately referred to as the MUP) that runs alongside Highway 4. The MUP provides a safe, direct route for non-motorized travel between Tofino and Ucluelet and represents one of this area’s more effective environmental initiatives.
“Tofino’s such a car free community,” says Maxeen Cameron, our events coordinator who helped organize the clean-up. “A lot of people who come here are here for the summer and they don’t necessarily have their own vehicles, so the MUP offers a safe way to get to and from town.”
Like any shared public space, the MUP is subject to the litter of inconsiderate humans. So cleaning it up felt like a great way for the community to come together and show our love for projects that decrease this town’s ecological footprint. And while we’ve traditionally taken part in beach cleans alongside the Surfrider crew, the MUP yielded a different style of refuse.
“We got a lot of different things,” says Maxeen. “I feel like beach cleans, you see a lot of cigarette butts and cans and random little microplastic pieces that have come in from the ocean. But I feel like the stuff you see on the MUP is stuff that has fallen out of cars or really random trash.” According to Surfrider, over 22 kg of waste was removed from the path, including plastics, fishing gear, paper, and general debris.
- The largest contributors included:
- * Cigarette butts: 13.92 kg (18 units collected)
- * Paper: 3.15 kg
- * Hard plastic fragments: 1.27 kg
- * Tires (without styrofoam): 1.41 kg
- Smaller but still significant finds:
- * Food packaging & wrappers: 1.05 kg
- * Beverage cans: 0.29 kg
- * Rope (fishing gear): 0.58 kg
- * Foam & styrofoam fragments: 0.13 kg combined
Thanks so much to everyone who came out for the clean! The vibe was high out there.
Also, while we’re on the subject of Earth Day, it’s also worth noting that Surfrider chalked up a substantial victory in their ongoing battle against the plastics that inevitably wash up on our shorelines and beyond. As of April 22nd, the District of Tofino has officially implemented a ban on single-use water one litre or less.
“Protecting the health of our coastlines requires more than just words—it requires a collective shift in how we live and do business. This bylaw reflects Tofino’s shared values and our community’s proven desire to lead the way in reducing plastic pollution,” says Tofino Mayor Dan Law. “By building on the groundwork laid by Surfrider, the proactive leadership of our local businesses, and our enduring respect for Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation stewardship, we are embracing a ‘refill and reuse’ culture to protect the environment we all share.”
All of our sustainability efforts out here on the coast go beyond Earth Day into every day of the calendar year. But it’s nice to come together as a community with both large and small scle boots-on-the-ground initiatives. Big shout-out to the warriors at Surfrider, the policy-makers who side with the environment and also to everyone who came out for our clean-up on the MUP.
These grassroots efforts make a huge difference!
