It was during the Christmas holidays in 2017 when the Rotary Club of Stirling held its very first Bottle Drive. The local service club had just voted unanimously to create a beautiful green space in and around the historic railway station and needed to raise money for the project. “The idea to create a little park was something we had been considering for a while,” explained Stirling Rotarian, Donna Graff, “and once we decided to go ahead, we kick-started the fundraising effort with a New Year’s Bottle Drive.”
The tract of land that would eventually become Station Park was undeveloped, municipal land and had become overgrown with weeds and rocks. Since then, however, it has been cleared (except for a few select trees), graded and landscaped to match the drawings prepared by Rotarians, Kevin Tribble, a noted landscape architect and Bill Vaughan, a retired civil engineer. Their comprehensive plan was submitted to Stirling-Rawdon council in 2018 and was quickly approved. In the years that followed, hardworking Stirling Rotarians have managed to transform the small tract of unused land into a welcoming little parkette. Today, Station Park is a beautifully landscaped public area with meandering pathways, gardens and trees, dotted with picnic tables and park benches for all to enjoy – with the initial funding and many additional costs covered with proceeds from the bi-weekly bottle drives. Stirling Rotary has continued to hold bottle drives every other Saturday morning, in all kinds of weather. “And we would like to gently remind people to consider us first,” noted Graff, adding, “we accept cans, bottles, wine bladders, tetra packs and plastics…”
Graff went on to explain that every penny raised from the bottle drives is used to fund the club’s local projects. “We have always been a community-first service club,” noted Graff, “and we’re blessed to be living in such a caring community. We see this kindness and generosity manifested every time we’re out there asking for a little assistance with whatever project we might have on the go…”
The Rotary Club of Stirling has a proud record of achievement in the “Little Village With a Big Heart” and there is eye-catching evidence of this all around town. Look no further than the charming Covered Bridge, created by the local Rotary Club in the mid 1970s or the local Soccer Fields project in 2002 – or perhaps the remarkable outdoor classroom at Stirling Public School. And of course, there is the historic railway station itself, which the local service club rescued from the wrecker’s ball in 2004. The building has since been moved to its present location and now features the beautiful Community Hall (available for rental), all thanks to hardworking Stirling Rotarians. And much of the funding for Rotary projects has come from the proceeds of their bi-weekly Bottle Drives. “Of course, we will keep it going,” explained Graff, “so many of our regular donors have said that they will only bring their empties to us because they know that every dollar we take in will be used to fund worthwhile community projects.”