The first Saturday of May was Vermont's Green Up Day, a day to clean up trash from the roadsides and riverbanks before the tall grass of summer makes it more difficult. This year I chose to green up our little stretch of river. Hurricane Irene left so much destruction and debris in our little village, neighbors lost their homes and businesses down the river, farm land is covered thick with sand that was saturated with oil and sewage. It was comforting to remove some of the reminders of that day and to see so many others out doing the same. I was able to walk only about an eighth of a mile along our side of the river because of the water level, but I managed to pick up 5 trash bags full plus a big heap of things that wouldn't fit into bags. It was a day well spent.
As I was picking things up, I wondered, is Green Up Day just a Vermont thing or do other states have something similar? I'd love to hear what your state does to keep it looking it's best!
p.s. That's one thing off the list.
I have a friend whose son goes to Dartmouth and they get community service for cleaning up. I'm shocked at how much is still left to clean. It's the same south of here in Binghamton, NY. So much is left undone and forgotten.
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