Restaurant owner's offer of free drinks sparks major spring cleanup in Meadow Lake, Sask.

A simple idea to encourage people to pick up the trash around themsnowballed into a major spring cleaning in Meadow Lake, Sask., over the weekend.

Kassidy Dunsing, owner and operator of the Eatery on Main, was inspired last week on her drive to work when she saw two people picking up garbage on Centre Street in the city, 250 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon.

"It just kind of dawned on me as to how clean our community could be if we all did that," she told CBC Radio's The Morning Edition on Tuesday "if we all picked up around our house, our business, our street, our block."

Dunsing began offering people a free non-alcoholic drink from her restaurant if they posted a photo of themselves on social media with a bag of garbage they had picked.

"After that it honestly just took off," Dunsing said.

When she asked other business owners in the city if they wanted to offer prizes to encourage a weekend garbage-picking blitz, they donated more than $700 worth of goods and servicesin a few hours.

This past weekend, Dunsing estimates hundreds of people from toddlers to peace officers picked trash and posted photos of their efforts.

She believes they did it for much more than a chance to win a contest. She says people saw others doing good work and wanted to be part of something positive in their community.

"I think right now that's what we need," she said.

"During these times it can be hard and it can be sad and it can be a struggle to get through. You can find something that's uplifting and something that's making our community a little better."