PORTLAND, Maine — Can one simple chore make a difference to a city? Caitlin Hopkins thinks so.
Hopkins manages Nomads, a clothing store on Portland’s Commercial Street. It's prime real estate in the heart of the city's Old Port district. She and many of her neighbors intend to keep it that way.
"People are interested in working together, and I think that’s what makes us such a unique and welcoming city," Hopkins said.
She has joined a new movement called Green Gulls.
Initiated by the nonprofit Portland Downtown, anyone is welcome to call themselves a gull, so long as they regularly commit a few minutes to sweep or clean the stoops and sidewalks at their building.
"We’ve got a really terrific public works crew, but they can only do so much. It’s a really big downtown," Cary Tyson, executive director of Portland downtown, said.
The name was devised in honor of Portland's underappreciated flying resident, the seagull, known for plucking at trash along the city's piers and sidewalks.
Sweeping is a simple enough task. But, for Hopkins, it’s personal.
"It’s really hard to walk past the back window and see someone toss a piece of trash into the bay," she said as she stood behind Nomad's counter and pointed toward the window. Her shop has a direct view of the pier behind it.
Trash originally thrown onto the highway or a sidewalk many blocks from the ocean can eventually work its way toward the water's edge.
"Too often, people don’t keep in mind that things can end up in the bay, and that’s the livelihood here in Portland," Tyson said.
Portland Downtown is reviewing Instagram posts with #PortlandGreenGulls and offering prizes including planters for storefronts and photography sessions to advertise merchandise.
Anyone interested in cleaning up their sidewalk can get free brooms, gloves, and trash bags from Portland Downtown.
