Skip to main content Skip to local navigation

Earth Day 2017: Enter a team for this year’s Campus Clean Up

Campus Services & Business Operations (CSBO) is inviting faculty, staff and students to help with the annual 20-Minute Campus Clean Up on Friday, April 21 at 2pm.

Every year York U community members come together to tidy key areas on the Keele and Glendon campuses where trash and other unwanted debris have gathered during the winter. Join friends and colleagues and pitch in to give the University a bit of “spit and polish” as we head into the spring season.

The areas highlighted on the map show the locations of the campus clean up

There are several designated areas for the Campus Clean Up. To find a location, refer to the Campus Clean Up Map and pick a location that is convenient for you or your group. Volunteers should meet at the designated meeting spots at 2pm to pick up gloves and a bag.

At Glendon, community members are asked to meet outside Glendon Hall Manor at 2pm.

At the Keele campus, the meeting spots are:

  1. Sports fields northwest of the Tait-McKenzie Centre (*this location starts at 1pm),
  2. Arboretum and Osgoode Woodlot along the Pond Rd.,
  3. Boyer Woodlot,
  4. Parking Lot Diversion Road, north of York Blvd. parking lot,
  5. Danby Woods,
  6. Boynton Woods.

Campus Clean Up competition

Teams can submit photos or videos to compete for prizes in the following categories:

  • Largest team,
  • Most interesting item found,
  • Best Campus Clean Up Day selfie or video.

Register your Campus Clean Up team in advance by e-mailing sustainability@yorku.ca.  You can also enter the contest by e-mailing us your contest photos or videos or tweeting them to @YUSustain.

Safety tips

Remember the following safety tips:

  • Wear appropriate and protective clothing (boots, gloves etc.);
  • wear a hat or sunscreen if necessary;
  • pick up litter in your gloved hand and carry the trash bag in the other;
  • do not pick up strange articles that may be dangerous;
  • don’t pick up anything that looks sharp (e.g. broken bottles or needles);
  • do not take any risks attempting to reach litter in hard-to-get-to places (up a tree, down a steep incline, in rapidly flowing water, on slippery surfaces etc.); and,
  • finally, remember to stick to the pathways, landscaped areas and the periphery of the woodlots. Walking through the wooded areas could adversely affect the plants and animals living there.