Last Saturday (June 28th), we held our third monthly Haywood St. cleanup. By the time we all met up outside at 9am, the day was already getting pretty hot, but we still got a great turnout! Lots of enthusiastic neighbors showed up, along with their even more enthusiastic kids.
Like usual, we broke up into small groups and headed in different directions down Haywood. There was the usual trash to pick up. Fast food containers. Used lottery tickets (no winners, I checked). Spent cans of beer. But we were pleasantly surprised to find that the large pockets of trash we’d come across in previous months was mostly absent. Theories abounded. Probably it was the hot weather.
But maybe, just maybe, we’ve slowly been making a difference.
The point of our neighborhood cleanups is, of course, to pick up trash. But that’s not the only reason we decided to make it one of our first projects.
We also want to give our street and neighborhood a reason to get together. In just a few of these cleanups, I’ve met a neighbors who lived right around the corner from me, who I’ve likely passed by a dozen times before, but who I’ve never had the opportunity to get to know before.
But now we have that excuse. It’s amazing what a short 30-minute walk with a pair of trash pickers will do.
Interested in joining up next time? We hold our neighborhood cleanups on the last Saturday of each month. Meet us at 515 Haywood at 9am this next July 26th to get in one the fun!
Can’t wait to see y’all around!