Tag Archives: clean up

Volunteers will gather at Lemery Park in Wyoming on Aug. 19 for annual Buck Creek Clean Up

2-row, Citizen Journalism, City of Wyoming, Environment, Non-Profits, Upcoming Events, West Michigan, , , ,
Volunteers with trash pulled from Buck Creek 2021 (Courtesy, Martha Stout Vermeulen)

By Deborah Reed

deborah@wktv.org

Volunteers of all ages are welcome to meet at Lemery Park in Wyoming at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 19 to help remove trash from Buck Creek during the family-friendly 10th Annual Buck Creek Clean Up event.

Event team leaders will assist in finding sites that meet volunteer needs and will provide necessary information.

Breakfast will be provided for volunteers by Marge’s Donut Den and Steenstra’s Royal Dutch Bakery, along with Littlefoot Coffee Roasters. Volunteers are also invited to a post-clean up lunch at Wedgewood Park, compliments of Grandville Mayor Steve Maas.

“It has been said that an individual’s effort is a single drop, but when a community gives effort, it is a tsunami,” said Martha Stout Vermeulen, Founder and former President of Friends of Buck Creek-Michigan (FOBC).

Trash lines a portion of Buck Creek near an EJ manufacturing facility (Courtesy, Martha Stout Vermeulen)

FOBC began as a grassroots group of concerned citizens that has evolved into a nonprofit watershed organization with hundreds of followers on Facebook and Instagram. FOBC’s focus is to inspire, initiate, promote, and engage in activities that improve and enhance both the environmental quality and the beauty of Buck Creek.

Over the past decade, Friends of Buck Creek-Michigan (FOBC) and Schrems West Michigan Trout Unlimited (SWMTU) have partnered to remove trash from the Buck Creek watershed in Grandville by organizing the annual Buck Creek Clean Up. On Aug. 19, current FOBC President Becky Dykhuis will extend the clean up into Kentwood and Byron Township.

Volunteer numbers have grown steadily since the event’s inception, with several tons of trash removed from the rare urban trout stream’s waters. Tires, shopping carts, microwaves, 55 gallon drums, and scary-looking dolls are only a few items removed from the creek.

The most frequent, and toxic, trash recovered is plastic and styrofoam.

A portion of Buck Creek after clean up near an EJ manufacturing facility (Courtesy, Martha Stout Vermeulen)

Vermeulen says she has observed several benefits resulting from the annual clean up, and a definite reduction in trash in areas that have been frequently cleaned.

“Getting citizens up close and personal with Buck Creek reveals problems that a disposable society creates, and increases awareness to reduce and reuse,” said Vermeulen. “Indeed, it takes a community to love a creek!”

Volunteers can register at: Volunteer – Buck Creek Clean Up.

A full schedule of the event can be found at: Facebook Buck Creek Clean Up.

If you are interested in being a sponsor of this year’s clean up, email mibuckcreek@gmail.com.

More information can be found at: mibuckcreek.org.

Earth Day event brings more than 80 people to help clean-up Wyoming parks

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Wyoming, , ,

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

Despite almost snow-like conditions, that lasted for only a few minutes, more than 80 people turned out for the city’s first park clean up in celebration of Earth Day.

Held on April 22 — the day set aside to celebrate Earth Day — area residents and community groups were encouraged to help clean up the city’s parks with this year’s focus being on Pinery Park, the Wyoming Senior Center, and Lamar Park.

Wyoming residents the Dean family, from left Mana, Marguita and Airrow,

Wyoming Recreation Supervisor Krashawn Martin said the city was pleased with the turnout and plans to make the park clean-up an annual event.

“We want to keep these places beautified and wonderful for all of us to enjoy,” Martin said.

Wyoming resident Marguita Dean and her family, Mana and Airrow, came out because they wanted to give back to their community, she said.

“We came because this is our park,” Marguita Dean said. “We use Pinery Park quite a bit and wanted to do something to help keep our park clean.”

The event also served as a kick off to the city’s Adopt-a-Park program. Throughout the summer, residents and community groups have the opportunity to help beautify and maintain the city parks. To get involved in the Adopt-a-Parks program, contact the Wyoming Parks and Recreation Department at 616-530-3164.

Summer hours for Wyoming’s yard waste drop-off are now in effect

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Wyoming, ,

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

The summer hours for the City of Wyoming’s yard waste drop-off site are now in effect. Those hours are 7:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. – 5 p.m .Saturday. 

Residents may bring sorted yard waste to dispose at the site. There is a leaves and grass pile for leaves, plants, flowers and grass clippings, and a brush pile for sticks, branches less than eight feet long, bushes, sumps less than three feet in diameter. 

With the warmer weathers come yard clean up. The City o fWyoming has year around hardware disposal. (Free Domain)

Proof of residency is required to use the site that would be a valid photo ID or a city water/sewer bill, property tax bill or tax assessment.

Enter and exit the site from Burlingame Avenue. The entrance is near the Department of Public Works entrance at 2660 Burlingame Ave. SW. Residents will be asked to show ID at the guard station. 

Residents are encouraged to stay six feet apart. Items should be disposed of in the correct piles. All paper and plastic bags must be taken with you.

 

For more information, click here. 

The City of Wyoming seeks volunteers to help spruce up its parks

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The City of Wyoming is hosting a community-wide clean-up at its parks for Earth Day. (Supplied)

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org

The City of Wyoming will celebrate Earth Day, April 22, in a special way with a community clean-up of its parks.

The city has 21 parks that range from neighborhood parks such as Ferrand Park, 4715 Byron Center SW, to nature preserves like Buck Creek Nature Preserve, 4269 Burlingame SW, and George P. Tilma Nature Preserve, 2100 Sheri Lynn Dr. SW.

Clean up will take place from 9:30 a.m. – noon on Thursday, April 22, at various Wyoming park locations. Volunteers will be assigned to different areas of the parks at check-in. All necessary tools, gloves, and bags will be provided. Face coverings and social distancing are required.

According Krashawn Martin, recreation supervisor for the City of Wyoming, the clean-up day will be a kick-off event for the city’s Adopt-a-Park program.

Adopt-a-Park, is a volunteer program in which citizens, area business or organizations can assist in the enhancement and preservation of local parks, nature preserves and green spaces. Groups need to make either a one-time or ongoing volunteer commitment throughout the year. Groups that do make an ongoing commitment will have signage identifying the organization as an Adopt-a-Park volunteer group.

For the Earth Day event, people may sign up individually or groups. Preregistration is required by April 12.

To register for the Earth Day event or to learn more about the Adopt-a-Park program, call 616-530-3164. You can also sign up the for the Earth Day even by clicking here.

Adopt-A-Highway clean up resumes, delayed due to COVID-19

3-bottom, Citizen Journalism, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, , ,
Recent Adopt-A-Highway volunteers were out in July helping to make the state’s highways nicer by picking up trash along the roadway. (Supplied/MDOT)

By Shallom Kimanzi
WKTV Intern

This summer, you may have noticed that the state highways had a little more trash along the sides than normal.

Because of COVID-19 and the lockdown that took place this past spring, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) had to cancel its normal Adopt-A-Highway clean up activities in April and May. 

However according to MDOT Public Relations Communications Representative John Richards, volunteers were able to head out on the roads in July to pick up trash. All volunteers were required to follow social distancing guidelines including wearing masks when in close contact with individuals who didn’t reside in their household.

The Adapt-A-Highway program was started in 1990. It involves more than 2,750 groups with volunteers collecting more than 60,000 bags of trash on 6,300 miles of highway. 

To participate in the Adapt-A-Highway program, you have to be at least 12 years old and in a group of at least three people. Each group is assigned a section of the highway and signs bearing the group’s name are posted along the adopted highway. There are no fees charged to participate and trash bags, safety vests, arrangements to haul the trash are provided by MDOT.

The final trash pick-up for this year’s Adopt-A-Highway program is scheduled for the fall, Sept. 26 to Oct. 4. 

If you’re interested in taking part in the program or finding out more, click here.

The City of Wyoming once again answers the urge to purge with its Community Clean-Up Day

3-bottom, City of Wyoming, , , , ,

Residents unload trash into the dumpsters during last year’s Wyoming Community Clean-Up Day.

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

joanne@wktv.org

 

Neighbors helping neighbors. Parishioners loading up trucks. Friends helping seniors move items. These are the stories City Treasurer Nancy Stoddard collected from last year’s Wyoming Community Clean-Up Day. Stories she hopes to see repeated at this year’s event set for Saturday, April 22.

 

“We have the same goal we had last year when we put together the Community Clean Up Day,” said Stoddard, who is is part of the Looks Good Committee, one of three strategic planning committees made up of city employees. “That was to reduce blight in the City of Wyoming as well as beautifying the neighborhood. So we are excited to bring this event back to the community again, right on Earth Day.”

 

The event will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at a new location, North Godwin Elementary School located at 161 34th St. SW.

 

“When we first came up with this plan for these community clean ups, we looked at areas of the city that had a particular amount of complaints regarding the improper disposal of refuse and in doing so there are three areas that started to standout in the city,” Stoddard said. “So we are trying to do a clean up in each of those three areas. So this year we have switched it to that North Godwin area.”

 

Entrance to the site will be from the northbound land of Buchanan from 34th Street to the south driveway of the school. Southbound Buchanan traffic will not be permitted to turn left into the site. Traffic will exit from the site to northbound Buchanan only.

 

Stoddard noted that residents living in the area have been notified that Opal and Reiser streets will be closed on 34th Street along with the west end of 34th Street to Buchanan during the event. Residents are encouraged to enter and exit the area via Division Avenue.

 

The set up is similar to last year. Residents must bring a proof of residency or if the person is a property owner, a utility bill showing that, to enter. Upon entering, household hazardous waste and items for recycling will be collected by Kent County (for what is accepted in hazardous waste and recycling, visit the Recycle Kent website), and Salvation Army will be collecting gently-used items (for a list of accepted items, visit the Salvation Army website). The north end will have eight refuse bins from Plummer. The number of refuse bins was doubled from last year due to demand.

 

“We were ecstatic with the turnout [from last year],” Stoddard said. “Three-hundred thirty-six vehicles came through the lot that day. Fifty-one point four tons of garbage, refuse were removed from the city at that one six-hour event.”

 

There will be a charge for mattresses and box springs, $15 each, and tires, which must be cut in half, will be $10.

 

Many of the city’s employees will be volunteering their time again at this year’s event. Also, high school students may use the event toward their required community service hours needed to graduate. To do so, high students need to fill out a form with the city by 5 p.m. Monday, April 17.

 

Also, the Wyoming Public Service Center Yard Waste Drop-Off site, located at 2660 Burlingame Ave. SW, will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There are no limits to the size of branches or shrubs, however, residents must unload the yard waste themselves and all containers must be removed from the facility.

 

For more information, visit the city’s website or call the treasurer’s office at 530-7284.