Spring clean your neighbourhood
When the snow recedes in the spring,
litter on sidewalks, streets, front lawns and parks is suddenly more noticeable.
Litter can be harmful to the environment, so cleaning it up is a great way to
improve your small corner of the world on Earth Day, and feel good about taking
action for the planet.
Here's how you can organize a successful
neighbourhood clean-up this Earth Day.
- Work as a team. Set up an organizing committee with other
neighbours to create a to-do list and share the workload. Decide on a central
"headquarters" for the day, and how you want to organize refreshments
for the work crews.
- Set a date. Determine whether it's best for your community
to hold your event on Earth Day itself, which is a Wednesday, or on a weekend.
Set a start and end time so people know how much time to commit.
- Choose an area. Sketch out a map of your clean-up site,
which could be a local park, the back alley, your children's school yard,
an area wilderness or your street's front lawns and sidewalks.
- Publicize. Make posters for neighbourhood bulletin boards
and to drop in mailboxes. Consider asking people to RSVP if they plan to participate
so you know who to expect.
- Dress properly. Everyone should plan to bring or wear rubber
gloves, sturdy footwear, long-sleeved clothing, a hat, a bottle of water (refillable,
of course!), sunscreen or rainwear (depending on the weather), and a rake
or shovel. It's a good idea to have disposable gloves to hand out, too.
- Equip yourselves. You'll need garbage bags to hand out
and bins or areas clearly labeled to contain any rubbish and recycling that's
collected. You may want to designate a team to drive to your municipality's
recycling or hazardous material depot afterwards.
- Help others. Remember to help elderly or disabled neighbours
by cleaning their lawn and sidewalk for them.
Safety tips
Promote a safe clean-up, with these
practical tips:
- Make sure that there's a first-aid kit handy.
- Do not pick up strange articles that may be dangerous or looks sharp, such
as discarded needles (contact your public health department in advance for
advice or assistance.)
- Encourage people to work in teams, not alone.
- Have all children supervised by a grown-up.
- If there's a lake, river or stream nearby, avoid the shores — waterways
can be unpredictable in the spring.
Celebrate success
Keep count of how many bags or pounds
of garbage are collected, and consider awarding a small prize for the team that
gathers the most. Allow time for neighbours to socialize and celebrate your
efforts when you're done.