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Unsmoke Canada

 

The Great Outdoor Fund

The Calgary Ski Club applied for a small grant in early 2023 from Unsmoke Canada and the Great Outdoors Fund. Our grant was requested to pay for costs involved in litter cleanup of trails throughout the Banff and Kananaskis area.

Below is a brief snippet from the Unsmoke website.  Please follow the links for more information.


At Unsmoke, a big part of our goal revolves around community engagement and tangible action. We’re determined to play an active role in communities across Canada to take steps towards our goals. Explore some of our partnerships and initiatives throughout this page!

THE GREAT OUTDOORS PARTNERSHIP

Unsmoke Canada and The Great Outdoors Fund 
This year, $75,000 will be rewarded in grants to organizations across the country.

 

The national cleanup program is unique in the industry. Unsmoke Canada and The Great Outdoors Fund are working to reduce litter in the environment while also working with an industry leader in recycling to recycle all the collected cigarette butts, specifically targeting the plasticized filters.

Unsmoke Canada and The Great Outdoors Fund encourage non-profit organizations with a connection to nature, outdoor recreation, outdoor conservation, health and wellness, volunteer engagement, and/or community service to apply for the grant. Interested organizations can apply here by May 5th.

UNSMOKE CANADA CLEANUPS

Every year, we grant thousands of dollars to organizations across Canada to organize litter cleanup events. In 2022, the Unsmoke Canada Cleanups made a positive impact across Canadian communities including:

- Engaging more than 2,400 volunteers who collectively contributed approximately 11,790 hours cleaning up litter and cigarette butts

- Collecting and properly recycling more than 1,300,000 cigarette butts – a 42 per cent increase year-over-year

- Cleaning up and treating more than 47,000 kilograms of litter (exclusive of cigarette butts)


Our Story


Initially, when we applied for the grant, we thought we would do a couple of cleanup days, write a report, take a few pictures and be done with it.  As it turned out we had a few keeners who toured through trailhead parking lots cleaning up.  We found garbage from what appeared to be illegal campers or dumpers near the helipad behind Engadine lodge.  Other parking lots yielded a treasure trove of dumped ashtrays, plastic bags and cans.

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