History

The Chilliwack Vedder River Cleanup Society was founded in the spring of 2002 by a dedicated group of anglers, birdwatchers, conservationists, biologists, and concerned local residents. This organization brings together individuals who share a common concern for the growing amount of garbage accumulating along the Chilliwack/Vedder River.

The society has two primary objectives:

To organize and mobilize volunteers, both groups and individuals, through an "Adopt a River" model, to actively clean and preserve the river.
To raise public awareness about the river's ecological importance and the urgent need to protect it from pollution.

By focusing on community involvement and education, the Chilliwack Vedder River Cleanup Society works tirelessly to ensure the river remains a clean, thriving natural resource for generations to come.

We have been busy over the last 23 years!

Since 2002, we have organized over 50 river cleanups. Our cleanups happen twice per year, once in April and once on BC Rivers Day which is the 4th Sunday in September.
As of 2025 over 7,000 volunteers have participated and each clean-up is four hours long, resulting in around 28,000 hours of volunteer work!
Currently there are 25 groups involved in the Adopt a River Program.
Since 2002, over 150 metric tonnes of garbage have been removed from the Chilliwack Vedder River riparian areas.