|
IFK Youth Category
<br />Scouts Drive Litter From
<br />Topeka Highway
<br />By Kathy Dechand
<br />ombining the efforts of the Girl
<br />Scouts, Boy Scouts, and local
<br />businesses, we sought to solve
<br />a litter problem on the busiest road-
<br />way of our city. Simply picking it up,
<br />though, was not enough. We also
<br />wanted to raise awareness and re-
<br />duce or prevent the litter from occur-
<br />ring in the first place. We called our
<br />project Wana Make Wanamaker Better —
<br />Mission: Possible.
<br />Growth Creates Cleanup Need
<br />The rapid growth and development in
<br />Topeka along Wanamaker Road creat-
<br />ed the Wanamaker Corridor. This two -
<br />mile stretch is home to more than 300
<br />businesses, including more than 25
<br />fast - food/carry-out establishments.
<br />M.SuxW!! Anal 2.2000
<br />School club 'receives natitonal honor
<br />TNYM . V.� '�°dipyj�iiid�.hwaYM,
<br />.���Lrhd• .WN
<br />.7 isr.0, imom+.�6wlds T°°eiis y.,
<br />��'lusmy a.a.�.
<br />d�.1TMweL�y,d
<br />p��yrY�M yy..Y 1s Ate,. `�°wb+R iY�db vr4d. w.M
<br />suit ▪ •__ � _. 7bM•A O. wd i- t
<br />Business Category •
<br />Super-Lube Makes
<br />Super-Clean Sweep
<br />by Sandi Varn
<br />For four years, locally owned Super -
<br />Lube Inc., Tallahassee, FL, and
<br />Keep Tallahassee/Leon County
<br />Beautiful have sponsored a commu-
<br />nity-wide contest to clean up litter,
<br />making a more beautiful area for our
<br />residents, businesses, and travelers
<br />through the area. Anyone can partici-
<br />included educational information,
<br />site information, bags, T-shirts, gloves,
<br />pickup sticks, a Super -Clean Swee•
<br />sign to mark trash piles for collection,
<br />and a first -aid kit.
<br />Once the litter is collected, we weigh
<br />and evaluate it to establish the win-
<br />ners of each competition. Awards are .:
<br />presented for Beautification, Civic,
<br />School, Business, Neighborhood, and
<br />Individual at the annual Keep Talla-
<br />hassee/Leon County Beautiful awards .:.
<br />banquet.
<br />Evaluation by Statistics
<br />pate in this project.
<br />The 1999 Super-Clean Sweep includ-
<br />ed more than 1,000 voiunteeis who
<br />collected more than 112,000 pounds
<br />of litter and debris. Sponsoring groups
<br />were able to evaluate the success of
<br />the event and provide officials with a
<br />basis for presentation of each ''award
<br />There also were several beautifica-
<br />tion and tree- planting projects by
<br />schools and civic organizations One ;44
<br />of the big advantages of our program
<br />is that it asks for participation from
<br />everyone, not just certain civic grou
<br />Individuals, families, scout grou
<br />school classes, clubs, and businesses'.
<br />all can participate.
<br />High. Community Involvement
<br />Brings Success
<br />The Super -Clean Sweep brings to-
<br />gether businesses, civic organizations,
<br />neighborhood associations, schools,
<br />and individuals to compile a team to
<br />compete in a number of areas: clean-
<br />ing .
<br />up litt er, painting over graffiti, and
<br />planting shrubs and flowers. The vari-
<br />ous categories are awarded prises,
<br />and the community benefits from a
<br />full cleanup ``
<br />Interested groups: and individuals
<br />picked up applications for the com-
<br />etition at one of 13 Super-Lube 10
<br />inute Oil Change locations and sub -
<br />tted them to - Keep Tallahassee/
<br />eon County. Beautiful. Participating
<br />arras received a contest packet that
<br />Sandi Yarn, Super Lube 10 Minute Oi1
<br />Change Ins., Tallahassee, FL Tel 850/56,
<br />3654; email sands @superlube.com
<br />The increased traffic to this area
<br />brought with it an increase in litter.
<br />This program was split into two
<br />components: identifying the source of
<br />the litter and removing it. As the local
<br />scout troops cleaned up, they record-
<br />ed what they found. This information
<br />was gathered and tabulated into a
<br />summary and shared with the local
<br />Keep America Beautiful affiliate and
<br />some of the main fast -food establish-
<br />ments along the corridor. Participants
<br />in the cleanup also resolved not to
<br />throw trash out of car windows.
<br />Information packets to participating
<br />scout troops included safety instruc-
<br />tions, hand protection, documenta-
<br />tion information, and educational
<br />Continued on page 5
<br />ilterl
<br />Super -Lube 10-Minute Oil Change has 13 locations in Tallahassee, making the
<br />company the ideal partner for distribution of Keep Tallahassee /Leon County
<br />Beautiful's "Super -Clean Sweep" packets. The community -wide cleanup pro-
<br />gram is open to all groups who want to participate, such as Girl Scouts who
<br />volunteered to clean up and plant flowers at Lake Ella (below) and Tallahas-
<br />see's Jack and Jill Club (above) whose members posed just before hitting the
<br />streets for cleanup.
<br />,LL
<br />LAKE ELLA D
<br />$1411e:'
<br />fek$
<br />
|