Volunteers across town came together yesterday to give back to mother nature.

The annual Sheep River Walk and Clean up took place on Saturday, May 6th.

Although this year, event organizers did things a little differently.

Leah chant, community services assistant with the Town says, this year the clean up went town wide.

"Volunteers come out to help clean up the river valley every year.  This year we've expanded it to be a town wide clean up, so that people can clean up their neighborhood or their favourite parks."

Chant says usually they always find a few gems when they're cleaning up the river valley, this year was no different.

"I would have to say we find a lot of paper, cups and food disposables but, I just heard someone say they had actually just found a car frame, so we always get some big and bizarre items."

Some parents brought their families down and turned it into family time, well spent giving back to the community.

Chant shares that it's a matter of pride for most people.

"Everybody in this town has such pride in our community, so people just want to keep it clean." Chant states  "There's so many people that come out and enjoy our pathways, it's just that much more enjoyable when you're walking along the pathway system and it's clean."

Last year's Sheep River Clean Up saw over 1,255 Kg's of garbage picked up from the pathway system, and over 300 volunteers participated.

Those numbers make it the biggest community clean up event in Okotoks.

Volunteers also planted nearly 3000 native trees along the river to celebrate Arbor Day and the importance of trees in our community.

Then, everyone came back to Ethel Tucker Park for a big BBQ lunch and prizes.