Green Up Day returns Saturday, May 2 Claim a road! Sign up by April 15 in Cavendish for free T-shirt

Green Up Day has been held each spring since 1970. The event is still going strong 56 years later, with tens of thousands of volunteers collecting hundreds of tons of trash annually from roadsides and waterways. This year, Green Up Day is Saturday, May 2.

Cavendish volunteers can sign up now and claim roads in the entryway of the Cavendish Town Office, located at 37 High St. (The door is open 24/7.) Those who register by Wednesday, April 15 will receive a free Green Up Day T-shirt.

Alternatively, you can meet at the Proctorsville Green between 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 2. Volunteers should return to the Green between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. to enjoy a cook-out and drinks. Keep returnables in a separate bag and bring them back to the Green. They will go to the nonprofit organizations Streetscapes and the Cavendish Community Conservation Association.

Safety precautions:

• Wear bright attire
• Bring a companion (elementary school children should be accompanied by an adult)
• 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

While you are out, take note of the most commonly discarded items, the most unusual piece of trash or debris and where you found the most litter. Fill out the questionnaire at the cook-out.

For more information, e-mail Betty McEnaney at betty@gotvermont.com or call her at 802-236-7099 or send an e-mail to CCCA at cavendishcommunityconservation@gmail.com.

If you come across items that are too big to manage, call the Town Office at 802-226-7291. Can’t make it to Green Up Day? You may start early and take Green Up bags to the Cavendish Transfer Station at no charge through May 10.