BEACHES CLEANER NOW Lt. Col. Patrick A. Nootton

The Environment Week Clean-up, initiated by the P.E.I. Natural History Society, the Island Nature Trust, and the P.E.I. Shell Fish Association proved a great success. Charlottetown Harbour beach areas, previously despoiled with all kinds of garbage, were thoroughly cleaned from the Southport side of the Hillsborough Bridge to Battery Point, and then from Rocky Point to the West River and North River Causeways. It ended with the tidying up of the Victoria Park area. The Mayor of Charlottetown, Mr. John Ready, undertook the arrangements for the clean up of the waterfront within the city limits.

Most of the work was achieved by the enthusiastic and active support of about two hundred and fifty young children from four of the Charlottetown Schools - West Kent, Elliot River, Parkdale, and Glen Stewart. Supervisory help was given by senior students from Colonel Gray and Charlottetown Rural Senior High Schools.

The organization and coordination of this enterprising project was undertaken most,efficiently by Keith Kennedy of York whilst the Militia generously donated personnel to operate radio communications and some transport which was essential to the success of the operation. The Red Cross provided first aid kits and their helpful cooperation was much appreciated.

The funding for the hiring of the school buses and the other expenditures was largely provided by the contributions from a number of local businesses, including McDonald's, Burger King, and Tim Horton's. McDonald's also provided luncheon vouchers for about 250 students. The young people enjoyed this venture and it is to be hoped that they will encourage their elders and those around them to follow their example to clean up litter from the beaches and to stop the use of the sea as a garbage dump.

LYME DISEASE

The Canada Diseases Weekly Report dated December 23, 1989 confirmed the presence of the northern deer tick (Ixodes dammini) on Prince Edward Island. In June of 1989, the first tick was removed from a Charlottetown area cat which had not been away from the immediate vicinity of its home. The second was removed from a 4 month old kitten from the Kensington area that had been in contact with a dog from Nova Scotia in late October. The last was removed from a dog in the Charlottetown area during the first week of November, 1989. While this dog had not travelled, its owner had recently returned from Connecticut. Local veterinarians and alert staff at the Atlantic Veterinary College (Dr. R.J. Cawthorn, Dr. B.S. Horney, and R. Maloney) can be credited with the identification of these ticks. The article suggested that the ticks may have arrived on the Island on migratory birds. It is unknown whether the ticks can complete their life cycle and establish themselves here on the Island in the absence of wild white-tailed deer.

The Canadian Medical Association Journal reported one other recent occurrence of this tick on the Island ("Lyme Disease in Eastern Canada", 1988).

The danger of contracting Lyme Disease on Prince Edward Island at present seems remote but our members range far and wide in their travels and some other areas certainly do have Lyme Disease carrying ticks.

The following article provides useful information on the symptoms which, if you become aware of them after travelling in a danger area, you should report them to your doctor. The information below has been excerpted from the Blomidon Naturalists Society Newsletter, Vol. 17 # 1, March 1990 article "Lyme Disease" by Dr. Colin Bell of Acadia University.

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