While walking his dog on the side of a road recently Taylor Nate couldn't keep his eyes off the ditches full of garbage.
Feeling the need to do something, the Fort Simpson man decided to go out and collect the garbage himself. “It’s disheartening to see that,” said Nate.
After collecting garbage by himself, Nate decided to create a post in the Fort Simpson Facebook bulletin board offering youth qho participate $10 per bag of garbage collected.
In the post, Nate wrote that he was willing to provide latex gloves, garbage bags and high-visibility vests for the youth who sign up.
The post drew positive comments initially but was also met with some criticism about his plan to pay $10 per bag.
“I’m just turning a blind eye to the negative comments, it’s not about the money,” said Nate.
Nate, a construction worker by trade, said he is putting up his own money to pay youth because he wants to help the people in the community who welcomed him with open arms when he first moved there from Alberta in February 2018.
“I want to help the youth in the community be proud of their heritage,” Nate added.
“It’s a really positive thing for the community,” said Troy Bellefontaine, a resident of Fort Simpson, who admires Nate's efforts.
“It inspires others to take action. I just hope people follow up,” Bellefontaine added.
April 1 was the first day planned for Nate's community garbage collection. Unfortunately, nobody else showed up – even with the $10 per bag offer.
“I’m still going to be out there cleaning, but quite frankly, it hasn’t gone the way I’ve expected,” said Nate.
Nate was planning to collect garbage from highways and within town from April 1 to 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
“I hope this helps with my efforts and get some people out,” said Nate.
“It’s a beautiful community and I would like for others to see the beautiful community without the hassle of seeing garbage around the streets,” added Nate.