Green Up Day Photos 2013 South Burlington VT

                           

                            is a Vermont Family Tradition,
and a SB Vermont tradition. 

                                    Big shoes to fill to follow this family's Green Up work ethic!

                Thank You Michael Mittag of South Burlington Land Trust for coordinating SB GUD

                                 Youth proudly hear and respond to  the call to clean up our earth.

             We cleaned up around the bus stop on Rte 7 by Lindenwood Dr and up the street a bit. The kids were really annoyed by the cigarette butts. So my son wanted to make a sign and a place for people to put them. It drives him crazy that they are all over the ground where he waits for the school bus.

 Both kids felt great about helping out today. They felt like "real workers" and that they were making things so much nicer for everyone. I loved doing it with them just to hear their sense of pride- in themselves and the place they live. They love the outdoors and they want it to look nice.
- Liz Siddle (Above 6 photos are from Liz).

                                                    Green and Clean are the words of the day.

                 One of many SBLT http://www.sblt.org/ members who volunteered at SB G.U.D.

         For all the trash they picked up and hauled, these guys are cool-with or without the shades.
        Thank You to all the Scouts who joined in to help Clean up South Burlington on  Green Up Day.

                                           Some heavy lifting done with bravado - Thank You Gentlemen.

                                     We all have our cross to bear. These guys carry theirs with a smile.

                After Green Up Day clean up, Real Estate values  in South Burlington are sure to rise.

                                             Filler Up!

                                                   Always with a smile. Gotta love the GE team.

                                                                             If I had a hammer, and coins for the jukebox.

                                                       Picked up trash is really piling up.

                                           Efficient car, and efficient use of all of its space.

                                                Young man, I do hope you don't get teased at school.
                                                       Thank You for being brave enough to show us your
                                                            entry to the Unusual Find contest.

                                                        We picked up litter here, and here....

             The Storm water in SB will be flowing a bit cleaner after today.

                                                              Now that is a keeper.

                             Load number 2 of 3, great neighborhood team collection of litter clean up.

 Brooke Brace and Angel Haag helping to unload the first of three trailer loads.


     Our Green Up Day success! As an active user and advocate of the woods behind O'Brien Drive on the north and the High School and Middle School Fields on the west, I have been increasingly bothered by the amount of trash that has been accumulating in that area. Some of the garbage is recent, but much of it has clearly been there for many years. I decided this year was the year to do something about it, and organized a group of my friends and neighbors to help clean it up. Though I had no idea how many would help and how much we would collect, I am very happy to report that we had well over ten volunteers from at least four different families, and we managed to pull, drag, and haul enough trash out of the woods to fill up three four foot by eight foot trailer loads (see attached picture). The amazing help and teamwork from kids as well as adults made me see and appreciate my neighbors in a new light, and at the same time we all got to enjoy some spectacular weather and leave the woods much cleaner than they were when we started. As well as many bags of small trash, we pulled out a disintegrating arm chair and couch, several metal chairs, at least five or ten tires, countless five gallon buckets filled with who knows what, a large metal water heater or air tank, and plenty of other interesting items.

I also want to thank all of your volunteers for putting the framework in place to encourage us to get out there and make a difference in this way. It is such a simple thing to take a morning and pick up some trash, and the cumulative effect of all of those small individual efforts is priceless.

Cheers to a job well done!

Jared Poor

with help from:
Sara Poor, age 2
Max Poor, age 4
Jesse Poor, age 6
Megan Poor
William and James Bradley, age 6
Alex Haag, age 10
Brooke Brace, age 15
Andy and Angel Haag
Kim Le, age 10
Khanh Le
and a few others whose names I did not get...

Sara Poor (age 2) helping gather trash in the woods.



 





 

                                                And many proud citizens, helping to clean up our community.

                                        Don't even think about littering in SB.... These guys mean business!

                 Thx bro. Green Up Day would not have been nearly as much fun without you along.

          With a smiling face our SB H.S. Senior volunteer directed traffic, and hauled heavy litter, light litter, whatever you needed help with.  Best wishes on your Engineering journey.

                                          WOW, that was even before I was born.

                     And we will be back with more!  Our smiles grow wider by the trailer load.

                                           X marks the spot. Green and Clean as a whistle now.

Where are PBS Antiques Roadshow experts when you need them?  

                                                Some folks even autograph the trash they clean up.

          What can we say? Green Up day is a tradition for us, and its just plain fun and rewarding.

                                             Green and Blue Planet.      Earth.        Our home.

                                     Friends and litter picking go together as well as coffee and danish.

                                         Needless to say, fun was had by all.

                       

 

                                           Three bags full. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.

                                          Green Up Day says community all around.

                                  ....I built it one piece at a time, and it didn't cost me a dime. -Johnny Cash

                The family that Greens Up together, has fun together.

                           Might not win the unusual find contest, however they might win the odor contest.

                                             Now you tell me there are Green Up BAGS available.

                                         Gloves are a very good idea. Sun shade hat too.

                                                        Always be careful when handling any litter.

                              Can you see the teeth on this beaver skull? WOW. Look closer below.


Picking up litter on Green Up Day together-
helps shine up any rusty marriage.

                          Treasure trash was abundant on Green Up Day in South Burlington.

Thank You Myers Containers Service - The Red Can Family.
 

                                                             Note the hard side boxes....

                                                     they are trash compactors!

140+ bottles of nips (tequila, vodka), beer, wine, etc.

all picked up on old cross road.

Submitted by Randy Kay

             We knew you would come through for us!


196 South Burlington volunteers collected 5.48 tons which included 62 tires (.67 tons), 2.28 tons of metal, and 2.53 tons of other trash.

                     Just a few of the many volunteers at SB Green Up Day drop off site at City Hall.

Green Up Volunteers at City Hall:

Karen Ryder
Sarah Dopp
Penne Tompkins
Sandy Dooley
Barbara Bull
Sophie Quest
Betty Milizia
Steve Milizia
Chris Milizia
Michael Mittag-Coordinator of SB Green Up Day

Bernie Paquette
Ian MacIver
Jack Leonard

All are members of the SBLT http://www.sblt.org/ except Jack Leonard and Ian MacIver.

South Burlington Land Trust missions include "Work with adjoining towns on land conservation projects to preserve forests, wetlands, and other natural areas for long term preservation, low impact recreation, wildlife corridors, and to maintain or improve water quality."

City staff Volunteers
Paul Conner
Tom DiPietro
Darla Champine

Businesses which donated goods or services:
Myers Container Services
Healthy Living
Hannafords
Myers Bagel Bakery
Barnes & Noble

Green Up Vermont org. (a non profit org) provided the Green Up Bags and posters. 

Green Up is a non-profit organization that receives only ten percent of their operating budget from cities, towns and the state of Vermont. Green Up relies on the generous donations from individuals and businesses to keep the organization going.

Green Up's mission is to promote the stewardship of our state's natural landscape and waterways and the livability of our communities by involving people in Green Up Day and raising public awareness about the benefits of a litter-free environment.


WCAX :Vermont to get cleaner and greener. http://www.wcax.com/story/22151501/green-up-day-set-for-saturday


See how folks responded to the fill in the blanks statement: When I pick up litter I feel....  @ http://www.litterwithastorytotell.blogspot.com/2013/04/earth-day-how-i-feel-when-i-pick-up.html 

Green Up Day: Tradition, Treasure Hunt, & pink bras.

     My personal Green Up Day stories developed from consecutive years of participating in the Vermont family tradition, sometimes alone, sometimes with family, sometimes with friends and sometimes with members of a nonprofit organization.  Each year brings new stories to share.  The event is as fun as seeking and picking up Easter eggs, and as rewarding as Halloween trick or treating.

     When I was a teenager, I sought out Green Up Day as a continuation of tradition mixed with my growing independence. As I joined friends that Saturday morning I felt like we were doing something good that seemed leveraged well beyond the ten or twelve bags of trash we collected.

     Green Up day seconds as an unusual items treasure hunt. From un-cashed paychecks, nearly new electronics, to lingerie, one never knows what strange and unexpected items are laying amongst the littered trash. Even after finding mystery items, the story only gets better as when I found the first pink bra; we will get to that in a bit, but first I must ask, what are your Green Up tale and most unusual or most interesting finds?

     Will you share your Green Up day adventures, fun, and traditions with me after this year’s Green Up Day on the first Saturday in May?

     Send me photos and stories of you and your group participating in Green Up Day including littered sites before and after clean up. I will publish them on my web site and may publish excerpts in local publications.  Visit my website to see photos of South Burlington residents who participated in the 2012 Green Up Day event.

     A few years back while litter picking on a stream bank next to the road, I noticed a bit of color amongst the dry dead leaves and mud. Pulling at the tiny piece of exposed strap, I was a bit startled to retrieve a pink bra. In the Green Up Day bag, it went along with the rest of the trash.

     When I arrived at the drop off site, I had nearly forgotten about the littered lingerie. The attendants asked if I had an entry for the most unusual item contest. I looked in the large green bag of trash and fished out a toy dinosaur. Anything else they asked in disappointment. Then I remembered the pink “item”, and began to blush. Well, I said, I do have one other item, however… the more I hesitated the more they wanted to see what I had. Long story short I won the prize that year for the most unusual litter. Thankfully, no one took a picture of me blushing with a dangling pink bra in my hands.

     The following year, on the very same stream bank, I found another pink bra!  There was no unusual contest entry from me that year, lest my face turn pink again! That pink bra will stay hidden at the bottom of a Green Up bag of trash unannounced waiting for some historical dig to unearth it at the landfill 300 years from now.

     Enjoy your Green Up Day tradition May 4, and remember to email me, litterstories(at)yahoo(dot)com, your photos and story for publication on my Litter With a Story to Tell web site. Show the faces of the Vermont Green Up tradition!