Old amphitheatre at Galt Collegiate gets cleaned up

A long overdue clean up has been taking place at the old outdoor amphitheatre behind Galt Collegiate in Cambridge as of late.

The latest efforts have been taken on by Devon Pearce and two friends, who have been hard at work since Labour Day.

Pearce, who recently moved to the area, has been using the trails to learn the area.  He told The Mike Farwell Show on 570 NEWS he saw the state it was in and “just couldn't leave it like that.”

“When we showed up, there was needles everywhere, there was overgrown branches everywhere,” he said, “You couldn't see the path, you couldn't see the school.  It was the perfect area for people to just hide out.”

Pearce and his friends went to work, and put in about 120 hours in the first three weeks, before they stopped counting.

He said on top of the used needles — which are being disposed of in a sharps container provided by the city — Pearce and company have found a tent, car parts, old journals from the 1970's and 1980's, and super glue.

The clean up was also getting the attention of Regional Police officers, who were on scene within two hours.

“They said 'oh that's fine, you're doing a great job, I really appreciate it' and he actually started telling us stories about when he went to school there,” Pearce added.

It also got the attention of security at Galt Collegiate, who initially asked the trio to leave.

But once Pearce explained the situation, he got an apology and security left.

He said in the age of COVID-19, the amphitheatre provides a great situation for the school, stating educators are looking for open spaces to hold physically distant classes.