SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine —
In South Portland Saturday, volunteers took part in a city-wide clean-up event to celebrate this year’s Earth Month. This initiative is meant to encourage people to take care of their community beyond Earth Day.
The South Portland Land Trust (SPLT) has been hosting an Earth Day cleanup event for almost 30 years. Now, working with the South Portland Parks, Recreation, and Waterfront Department this year it has organized events throughout the month of April. SPLT president Richard Rottkov says this is great for families that want to get outside and give back to their community.
“We’ve heard from a lot of people because they’ve been locked inside because of COVID, so this event really gives people the opportunity to get outside to do something very important and it's helpful,” Rottkov said.
The SPLT does its best to get the entire city involved by sending out flyers and using social media. Social Media is how Alice Bonnevie-Rothrock heard about the cleanup event and went out to clean a small piece of coastline with friends.
“I’ve seen a lot of trash around here. And me and my friends come down here sometimes and we always see a lot of trash so I thought it would be nice to come and help clean up because when it’s like a city-wide thing like that, the more people the better. When everyone chips in you can get a lot more done," Bonnevie-Rothrock said.
Volunteer coordinator Tom Blake, who also helped found the South Portland Land Trust, reminds people that every day should be Earth Day. If you’re an individual, family, or business that wishes to give back to the community, the SPLT has plenty of projects that could be right for you. You can learn more about events and projects by visiting South Portland Land Trust’s Website or Facebook page.