Green Up Day: May the 4th be with you! Information for Andover, Cavendish and Chester

By Stacia Spaulding
©2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC

Although Green Up Day officially takes place on the first Saturday in May, many area residents have gotten a jump-start on cleaning up the roadsides in their towns. If you would like to help, there are still plenty of opportunities available on Saturday, May 4.

Green Up Vermont’s mission is to keep environmental stewardship exciting and rewarding for all. This year’s theme is teamwork. “We are introducing some special campaigns this year that focus on big teams and working together. In addition to all city and town efforts we are running a special VT Top to Bottom Green Up campaign that runs from the Canadian border to Massachusetts along the Route 100 Scenic Byway. With volunteers placed at every mile it is essentially a 208-person relay team,” said Executive Director Kate Alberghini. “Everyone will start at 10 a.m. and have Vermont Route 100 cleaned in approximately an hour.” Click here for more information or to sign up for this project.

Green Up Vermont has also announced a Guinness World Records attempt: The Most Pledges Received for Trash Clean Up in 24 Hours.

“The goal is to include all Vermonters and visitors who want to make the pledge. We have timed it around Green Up Day so that people will act on their pledge and be inspired to clean up some litter. We want the world to see how mighty our little state of Vermont can be. We are making history here,” said Alberghini. Click here for a pledge form that must be returned via e-mail or text between 4 p.m. on Friday, May 3 and 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 4.

Many more schools are joining the environmental effort of Green Up Day by participating in contests and initiating school-wide Green Up efforts. The Armand Poulin Memorial Poster Art contest winner is Adelyn O., a seventh-grade student at Essex Middle School; the writing contest winners are Elliott K. and Casey K., third- and seventh graders, respectively, from Ryegate and the jingle winner is Maude, a fourth grader from Waterford. The video contest winner will be announced soon via social media.

Safety precautions:

• Wear bright attire
• Bring a companion
• Work your road facing traffic…up one side and down the other
• Wear long pants and check for ticks
• If you see a needle or sharp material, find an adult, put it in a thick, sturdy container and place the container in the regular trash

ANDOVER

As in the past, Andover volunteers are encouraged to rid the roadsides of trash, as well as to give the cemeteries and town grounds a spring clean-up. It takes everyone to keep thecommunity healthy and clean. Pick up trash bags on Green-Up Day at the Town Office, 953 Weston-Andover Road, starting at 9 a.m., and grab a coffee or water. To get a head start, volunteers can obtain bags from the Town Office. Green-Up trash can be placed in the dumpster in front of the Town Garage.

At around noon, gather at the Town Office for a potluck picnic. Hot dogs and soft drinks will be provided; volunteers are asked to bring a side dish, if possible. If you have a road that you would like to reserve, please send an e-mail to Deb Moser, Andover’s Green-Up Coordinator.

CAVENDISH

Join the Town of Cavendish Recreation Department and the Cavendish Community and Conservation Association on Saturday, May 4 for Green Up Day.  Volunteers can pick up bags anytime until May 4 at the Town Office, 37 High St.

You can do your own cleanup ahead of Green Up Day or meet on the Proctorsville Green, Village Green Road, between 9 and 10 a.m. on Saturday. You will receive a road assignment if you do not already have one and will be given collection bags and instructions. Tie your filled bags and bring them to the transfer station or to the Proctorsville Green on Green Up Day.

Sandwiches, salads and drinks will be provided for volunteers between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on the Proctorsville Green.

If you cannot participate on May 4, the entire month is Green Up May; you can walk your road picking up trash on any day of the month.

To claim a road that you are willing to clean, go to the Cavendish Community and Conservation Association Facebook page or contact the Town Office at 802-226-7292. You can also call Stephanie at 802-384-0205 or e-mail Bonnie. For more information click here.

CHESTER

Green Up bags are available at:

• Whiting Library, 117 Main St.
• Chester Hardware Store, 21 Main St.
• Erskine’s Grain & Garden, 54 Grain Store Road
• Chester Town Hall, 556 Elm St.

Place filled bags in the dumpster at the Town Garage, 144 Town Garage Road. It will be available from Friday, May 3 through Wednesday. May 8. Please leave tires next to the dumpster.

The Green Up Mentor Program offers local high school students an opportunity to earn community service hours while actively contributing to the Green Up initiative. Interested students are encouraged to take advantage of this chance to make a meaningful difference in the community.