L.A. Matheson Secondary students work to make a better, beautiful Surrey
A group of L.A. Matheson Secondary students has kicked off a new initiative to clean up the city by beautifying the local neighbourhood.
Tackling overgrown brush, invasive plants, littering and uneven footing, the students have begun working on an area at the edge of their school’s property often used as a community footpath.
The cleanup effort was officially recognized at an event held at the school yesterday and saw Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke Coun. Mike Bose and Surrey Board of Education trustees in attendance as more than 60 students set out to plant trees, pick up trash and install art on the fences as part of a ‘working party.’
“This strip of land was just a marshy, unkempt area where people would dump stuff like construction materials or furniture,” said PE teacher Marik Sandhu, who spearheaded the effort. “It was part of the two-kilometre run that my students were doing and there was all this stuff on the path, so we talked about what we could do about it.”
Having initially surveyed the area in 2022, Sandhu worked with the city and district to determine who owns the land.
“There was a bit of confusion … so in the meantime my students began calling it ‘No Man’s Land,’” laughed Sandhu.
After confirming the land was in fact city property, Sandhu and his students began to plan how to improve the area with the city's blessing. The city also reached out and offered to provide some resources to Sandhu and his students as part of a wider municipal cleanup campaign.
“We got to chatting with the city and they wanted to include this as part of their ‘Our City’ initiative,” explained Sandhu. “The whole idea of that program is the spruce up neighbourhoods and so they’ve been able to help us improve the area with things like a paved pathway.”
In addition to the pathway, city crews have provided trees and bushes for planting, landscaping tools and equipment, and installed more garbage cans.
“It is always inspiring to see our students take pride in their city and work to create cleaner, safer neighbourhoods,” said Surrey Board Chair Laurie Larsen. “Whenever caring young leaders like this take ownership of their community and work towards making it a better place for all, it brings everyone closer. We are always proud to see the positive impact youth in our schools can make.”
Sandhu echoed Larsen’s statement, saying that since the cleanup project began, he’s noticed more students becoming increasingly mindful about their environment and how their actions can make a difference.
“I’ve seen more and more students questioning why people litter and think about the ethics and morals behind those kinds of actions,” he said. “They’ve been able to see first-hand the benefits of taking a spot that’s been neglected and cleaning it up.”
