Environmental concerns over scattered garbage at Vernon, B.C. nature reserve

"All the plastic that gets into the creek, it flows into the creek. That creek is connected to Okanagan Lake. It's a terrible situation, it has to get cleaned up," said Wise.

Scattered garbage and debris at the north end of Vernon, near Swan Lake, are causing concerns as the area is part of a nature reserve that’s frequented by wildlife.

According to the owner of Wise Wildlife Control Services, Pete Wise, the impacts of the mess on the environment can be severe.

“Because of all the plastic that gets into the creek, it flows into the creek. That creek is connected to Okanagan Lake. It’s a terrible situation, it has to get cleaned up,” said Wise.

“The things like the raccoons, the coyotes that get in there, the ravens, the crows, all of them are in there, and then, of course, the bears get in there and they’re just spreading it around. There have been quite a few cases where we had to go rescue ducks and geese that have been trapped by the tops of plastic pop cans and things like that.”

Since much of the area is part of a nature reserve, one area resident and frequent walker of the trails, David Dean, says it’s disappointing to see it being treated this way.

“There’s nature walks onto this land, onto this watershed and it’s like the lungs of Vernon,” said Dean. “It’s a really important environmental place right next to our city. So yes, it is concerning that it’s not getting cleaned up.”

Since the mess is located at the north end of Vernon but also near the CN Rail, Global News reached out to the city of Vernon to see who’s responsible for monitoring the land and taking care of the mess. However, the city has not yet responded to our request for comment.