Officials at Wildlife Preservation Canada say they are shocked by the amount of garbage found at the Ojibway Prairie Provinicial Park.

The group reports a team of interns planned a simple garbage clean-up at the nature reserve a  few weeks ago and found more than they bargained for – over 230 kg of trash.

“Windsor boasts the largest protected tallgrass prairie and savanah remnant in all of Ontario. These are globally rare ecosystems, so it’s quite a shock to see the park being disrespected by residents this way”, says Jonathan Choquette, WPC’s Lead Biologist based in Windsor.

The group says the mounds of refuse took two WPC interns an entire week to cleanup and cart out of the sensitive ecosystem.

Choquette says they also found 10 illegal campsites with mangled and torn sleeping bags as well as abandoned tents.

He is urging park users to respect what little endangered species habitat left in the region.

The Ojibway Prairie Provincial Park is home to hundreds of hectares of natural lands, and provides habitat for six types of snakes, including three Species at Risk: the Massasauga Rattlesnake, Butler’s Gartersnake and Eastern Foxsnake.