BY: Amy Norris, Public Information Coordinator
To kick off the 17th annual City of Duluth’s Clean & Green program over 500 students and volunteers today, April 20th will be cleaning up our watersheds (creeks and rivers) and educating the community on the collective impact of liter and pollution in our waterways.
True North AmeriCorps, Duluth YMCA, Duluth Public Schools ISD 709, Arc Northland, Western Lake Superior Sanitary District (WLSSD), United Way of Greater Duluth, American Lung Association in Minnesota and Minnesota GreenCorps are teaming up with the City of Duluth to support these Global Youth Service Day efforts.
Many Duluth Public and Private Schools will be partnering in the day-long event by engaging students in clean-up efforts at streams and parks located near their school. Arc Northland is organizing two student-led clean-up efforts at East and Denfeld High Schools.
Local AmeriCorps programs are also mobilizing youth and volunteers to contribute to the Global Youth Service Day Watershed Clean-Up efforts. AmeriCorps programs operating in Northeastern Minnesota place over 150 members in local communities. True North AmeriCorps, facilitated by the Duluth YMCA, has been the local Global Youth Service Day lead agency since 2004.
“We are all connected,” stated Duluth Mayor Don Ness. “When one area of our community is polluted, other areas are affected. A plastic bag littered in Lincoln Park or Lakeside ends up in Lake Superior.” The Mayor continued, stating: “I’m proud of our local youth who are ‘streaming us together’ on Global Youth Service Day. I challenge everyone to get involved in keeping the watersheds where you live, work and play clean whether at your neighborhood park or your own front yard.”
This year’s 17th annual City of Duluth’s Clean & Green community-wide clean-up effort will be held beginning Saturday, April 21st and ending on May 5th.
We invite community members and organizations to join us during this week of community pride. Our goal is to have hundreds of citizens working together in our parks, neighborhoods, business districts and along the waterfront, so that by the end of the week our city will be spruced up for another summer season.
We would appreciate you letting us know if your group will join in these efforts. Please call Amy Norris, Parks and Recreation Division at 730-4312 or email anorris@duluthmn.gov if you are interested in participating. Garbage bags are available to registered groups and can be picked up at the Washington Community Recreation Center Monday-Friday 8:00-4:00 PM. The Washington Center office is located at 310 North 1st Avenue West in Room 108.
Together we can make a difference in our community.
