Green Up Vermont's Blog

Reminder: Poster and Writing Projects Deadline January 31st

2012-01-10T06:58:00.001-08:00

It is that time of year again......when we start spreading the word about our upcoming annual Poster and Writing Projects. Kids grades K-12 are encouraged to enter one or both of the projects, as individuals or as a part of their school classroom activities, if their teacher is participating. Homeschoolers are encouraged to submit too! Please see our Poster and Writing Project pages for information:

http://www.greenupvermont.org/contests.php

Annual Green Up Vermont Poster and Writing Projects

2011-09-21T07:14:00.000-07:00

Subaru of New England Green Up Day $5,000 Raffle Prize

2011-06-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Mr. Mears of the Brattleboro area, who won Subaru of New England's Green Up Day Raffle Prize! He received $5,000 worth of landscaping from Linden Landscaping of West Addison, Vermont. He is pictured here at Brattleboro Subaru. Thank you to Subaru of New England for hosting this raffle and for generously providing the $5,000 prize!

Press Conference with the Governor

2011-05-02T12:09:00.000-07:00

Montpelier, Vt. – Gov. Peter Shumlin, Green Up Vermont President Melinda Vieux and Ski Vermont President Parker Riehle today encouraged Vermonters to participate in Vermont’s iconic Green Up Day.

Gov. Shumlin said Vermont’s annual Green Up Day—Saturday May 7th — is one of the greatest demonstrations of the state’s longstanding commitment to the environment.

“Each year thousands of Vermonters volunteer to help make our state a cleaner, greener place to live and work,” the Governor said. “I invite every Vermonter who can to find a little time to contribute to this important effort.”

He also noted that Green Up Vermont is a nonprofit organization with 501(c) (3) status, not a state agency.

“The entire effort relies on the support of local communities, the volunteerism of individuals and the generosity of employers all throughout Vermont,” Gov. Shumlin added. “It’s a wonderful Vermont tradition.”

Green Up Vermont’s mission is to promote the stewardship of Vermont’s natural landscape and waterways and the livability of our communities by involving people in Green Up Day and raising public awareness about the benefits of a litter-free environment.

“Vermont has a lot of traditions to be proud of and our environmental legacy of sharing the goal to keep Vermont a clean, safe, beautiful and welcoming place is certainly one of them,” said Vieux. “But we must remember, Green Up Day's success depends upon two essential ingredients: one, the combined efforts of individuals and civic groups volunteering to make it all possible; and two, financial support given by the public and private sectors throughout Vermont. This is truely, a traditional, grassroots effort.”

To learn more about local Green Up Day activities, check your local newspaper; visit greenupvermont.org; or call 800-974-3259.

ABOUT THE SKI VERMONT GREEN UP DAY CONTEST

Ski Vermont President Parker Riehle said the association of ski areas wanted to enhance the work many of its members, associate members and partners do for Green Up Day by organizing a light-hearted contest that encourages Green Up Day participants to share their stories and their appreciation for Green Up Day.

“Our contest is open to any person, group of people, organization or company that participates in Green Up activities,” Riehle said.

Specifically, Ski Vermont will award prizes for:

•Team Spirit
•Most Unique Piece of Trash; and
•Best overall Green Up Day story.
Each category requires either a video or photo submission with a brief written explanation.

Participants will enter to win prizes by posting their photos, videos and/or written explanations on the Ski Vermont Facebook Page or by emailing submissions too info@skivermont.com. Prizes will be provided by Ski Vermont and Green Up Day partners Cabot Creamery, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Long Trail Brewing Company, Darn Tough Socks and Rossignol.

“We are really looking forward to the results and have no doubt that it will be a fun way to capture, and increase, the enthusiasm that Vermonters have for Green Up Day,” Riehle added.

Bags and posters!

2011-04-12T10:06:00.000-07:00

The bags and posters are ready early this year! Everything has been delivered to the District Garages throughout the state. From there, the District folks deliver all the bags and posters to the towns. If you are new to Green Up Day and want to participate, please visit our How to Participate page: http://www.greenupvermont.org/participate.php Click on your county and you will see your town coordinator contact information. Your coordinator will tell you how to get the Green Up Bags and then what to do with them once they are full! Green Up Day is May 7th this year!

Writing Project winner and the Awards Banquet

2011-03-17T06:43:00.000-07:00

This year's annual writing project winner is Corinne Lyndes of Fairlee! She is in grade 7. Here is her wonderful poem:

Green Up Day by Corinne Lyndes

Winter hides the dead of fall,

It’s a flawless heaven that covers all.

But when the snow begins to melt,

What we’ve done is uncovered.

There’s so much trash,

The ground is smothered.

Spring is a time for

A cloudless day, flowers to bloom, and animals to play.

The grass should be green,

So get up and keep the environment clean!

Our state and our towns deserve so much more, so we should see the forest floor.

This is where our children play, so help out!

It’s Green Up Day.

Rosie Hark, grade 2, of Williston was our Elementary School winner.

Samantha Beaulieu, grade 6, of Brown's River Middle School, was our Middle School winner.

Aubrie Sauer, grade 11, of Mount Anthony Union School was our High School winner.

Congratulations!

The writing winners, along with the poster winners, will all be honored at our March 25th banquet at the Capitol Plaza in Montpelier.

2011 Green Up Day poster art

2011-02-16T10:27:00.000-08:00

The judges have selected a winner for the overall 2011 Green Up Day poster. Congratulations to Willis Page, a 9th grader from Blue Mountain Union School. His art teacher is Mr. El Towle. Congratulations to both of you on a fantastic poster design! The other winners by grade category are:

Grades K – 1 winners:
Paige Allen, Barre Town Middle and Elementary, Kindergarten
Rayna Long, Barre Town Middle and Elementary, Kindergarten
Rebecca McKelvey, Barre Town Middle and Elementary, Kindergarten
Benjamin Barber, Barre Town Middle and Elementary, Grade 1
Riley Brown, Barre Town Middle and Elementary, Grade 1

Grades 2-3 winners:
Grace Pearce, Lyndon Town School, Grade 2
Jake Darling, Barre Town Middle and Elementary, Grade 2
Natalie Taylor, Barre Town Middle and Elementary, Grade 2
Hannah Dube, Blue Mountain Union School, Grade 3
Beth Poirier, Barre Town Middle and Elementary, Grade 3

Grades 4-5 winners:
McKayla Frasier, Neshobe School, Grade 4
Anna Lehmann, The Mountain School, Grade 4
Cheyenne Schoenig, Barre Town Middle and Elementary, Grade 4
Bea Bellingham, Flood Brook Union School, Grade 5
Justin Cambra, Blue Mountain Union School, Grade 5

Grades 6-7 winners:
Arianna Morton, Bellows Falls Middle School, Grade 6
Nancy Zheng, St. Johnsbury School, Grade 6
Josie Langlois, Waterville School, Grade 6
Rebecca Wrigley, Blue Mountain Union School, Grade 7
Olivia Wyatt, Blue Mountain Union School, Grade 7

Grades 8-9 winners:
Sarah Bellavance, Barre Town Middle and Elementary, Grade 8
Mckenzie Brandon, Bellows Falls Middle School, Grade 8
Rose Meriam, Barre Town Middle and Elementary, Grade 8
Amber Thomas, Bellows Falls Middle School, Grade 8
Amy Allan, Blue Mountain Union School, Grade 9

Grades 10-12 winners:
Grace Baker-Whitcomb, Montpelier High School, Grade 10
Milo Hecht, Montpelier High School, Grade 10
Noah Nielsen, Montpelier High School, Grade 10
Cullen Rose, Montpelier High School, Grade 10
Mike Lucy, Mt. Anthony Union School, Grade 12

Congratulations to everyone! We will hold a banquet in their honor on March 25th at the Capital Plaza in Montpelier.

Poster and Writing Projects

2011-01-20T05:58:00.001-08:00

Entries are arriving for the annual poster and writing projects! Judging will be in early February, so soon we will know what our overall 2011 Green Up Day poster will look like. We are in the midst of fundraising, which is going well. It is always hard to imagine Green Up Day when there is over a foot of snow on the ground and temps haven't been over 25 in months.....but it will be here before we know it!

One Green Earth - Flynn Center performance honoring 40 years of Green Up Day!

2010-11-16T11:09:00.000-08:00

There will be a VSO SymphonyKids Orchestral Youth Concert honoring 40 years of Green Up Day on Thursday, December 2nd at the Flynn Center. Two performances, one at 9:30 am and one at 11:30 am, Grades K-7. Bill Shontz will emcee the concert, and there will also be a recycled materials percussion contest!

Visit their website for more information:
http://www.vso.org/education-orchestral-youth-concerts.php

Annual Poster and Writing Projects

2010-09-06T09:14:00.000-07:00

It is that time of year again......when we start spreading the word about our upcoming annual Poster and Writing Projects. Kids ages K-12 are encouraged to enter one or both of the projects, as individuals or as a part of their school classroom activities, if their teacher is participating. Please see our Poster and Writing Project pages for information:

http://www.greenupvermont.org/contests.php

Green Up Albania

2010-07-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

We are excited to announce that we have been discovered by Albania! Molly Golden, who is living and working in Albania, through the Peace Corps program, contacted us this past year looking for quidance on starting a Green Up Day in Albania. She was discouraged by how much trash she was seeing all over the country. She has made great progress, by contacting city and town officials in Vlore and many of the surrounding areas. She also had a poster contest! We are honored to be "Sistering" with Albania, through the hard work of Molly Golden. Thank you Molly! For more information, please visit the Green Up Albania website: http://greenupalbania.com/

Live the Green Up Way Every Day

2010-05-25T06:40:00.000-07:00

Another successful Green Up Day.....beautiful weather, tons of volunteers, and now, clean and green roadsides throughout the entire state! Thank you to everyone who went out on or before Green Up Day, the first Saturday in May. Many towns have reported less trash this year, so that is a very good thing!

Green Up Day has passed, but you can Live the Green Up Way Every Day. How can you do this? Here are 10 things that you can do throughout the year:

*Pick up litter when you see if, especially if there is trash can nearby.

*Pick up litter when you are out in the outdoors, if you see it, like on a hike in the woods.

*Encourage local businesses to do their part by keeping their parking lots and lawns litter-free.

*Teach the young children in your life about the importance of litter-free living.

*Plant a tree or a garden, an activity both beautiful and rewarding!

*Recycle and reuse as much as possible, to keep trash out of the landfills.

*Support/participate in your local Conservation Commission

*Encourage your local schools to become more involved in Green Up Day

*Live sustainably by being mindful about your use of natural resources

*Spread the word about Green Up Day!

More Green Up Day memories!

2010-05-04T07:57:00.000-07:00

Meg Anderson Hagen:
In 1970 my mother and I cleared a long section of Routes 4 and 12 North in Woodstock on Green Up Day. We began at Billings farm below Mt. Tom, and I have a proprietary fondness for it, still considering it "my stretch of road", although it is too dangerous a section to be cleared now on Green Up Day.

I was 11 yrs. old, and remember the day vividly - hunting for trash along both sides of the road in the flattened grasses and along the steep banks of the rushing brook, the cars whizzing past us, the sun warming us, and that we felt great satisfaction about having many bags full of other people's stinky trash packed away in the back of the car when we finished.

Frank H. Teagle Jr. was a visionary in the development of Woodstock's recycling efforts in the early 70's, and when we dropped off our piles of bags he was always on top of a huge pile of collected rubbish, sorting out valuable materials, God bless him. Thanks to his example I have remained devoted to recycling.

Many years of cleaning up Woodstock roads later... I now live in Norway and continue the tradition of "greening up" here, when the snow melts in late May, and I share the story of Vermont's Green Up Day with anyone who will listen. I have planned several visits back to VT to include the first Saturday in May, in order to join dedicated friends and former classmates in front of the Town Hall at 8 am. I feel tremendous pride that my home state in the U.S. places such a value on natural beauty, and that thousands of Vermont residents are willing to pay for it each spring with miles and miles of sweat equity and smiles!

Marian Guihan:
I just got off the phone with my Dad, asking him "Do you remember where we were 40 years ago right now?" "Yep" he said right away, "walking up the north bound lane of the interstate filling bags with trash!" My Dad was the headmaster of the Putney Grammar School at the time and he took a bunch of us 8th graders, riding in the open back of a pick-up, up the closed interstate to "our" mile. Like another person who wrote here, I still think of that mile as "ours". It was north of Putney where they were just building some new, fancy rest areas.....those rest areas were just torn down and closed, unbelievable. We had a grand time running all over the interstate and we filled that truck with trash, the ride back was not as spacious! Then we went on to clean a local road in Putney, the name of which I can't remember. But I do remember that Gov. Davis had dropped a lot of cans from a helicopter with dollar bills attached to them as incentive, and I found one! Shoulda kept it. My Dad doesn't have internet so he couldn't share here but he asked me to be sure and say the we were all in his brand new 1970 Ford pick-up. In the true spirit of Green up Day, that ol' truck was never dumped. It went on to live a long productive life on the farm, and they still have it. Far as I know it'll still start.

Andrew K. White:
I remember being part of the Boy Scout troop and picking up along RT.15 by Blow and Cote to the Dump Road and on Bridge Street by Lake Lamoille. George Paine drove us around in his brown Jeepster. I remember that we set on the tailgate with our feet dragging the pavement.We spent a long time on Bridge Street as that seemed where everyone would dump their cans and trash.

Jill Lapham Kelly:
I was finishing up my freshman year at Green Mountain College in Poultney. I remember collecting rubbish from the sides of the road somewhere near the campus. I was glad to be a part of the first Green Up Day! I live in Massachusetts but make frequent trips to Vermont and Ireland - one place is as green as the other!

Exciting phone call

2010-04-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

We received a very exciting phone call from someone, in response to our "Were you there" campaign, to find people that remember being there on the first Green Up Day. The reason it was so exciting is because he was one of the Scouts pictured in the photo that we have been using to promote this campaign! His name is Steven Drebber and he is the boy in the photograph wearing the striped pants and holding a Green Up bag under his arm. He also identified some other people in the photo: right behind him (to our visual right) is Curtis Monroe and all the way to the far right in the photo is his brother, David Monroe. The Drebber and Monroe families both lived on Liberty Street. The Scoutmaster was Mr. Dickinson, and the boy pictured holding the Budweiser box is Mr. Dickinson's son, Lamar. The boy wearing the tall rubber boots is believed to be Brent Goddard. Do you recogize anyone in this photo? It was Cub Scout pack #15 out of Montpelier, and Steven reports that it was about half of the pack. Steven now lives in Woodstock and Green's Up every year with his family, including his 7 and 11-year old sons. He told us that he felt like he wouldn't have had that opportunity to Green Up on that first Green Up Day if it wasn't for his involvement with the Cub Scouts.

The man in the hat is Governor Deane Davis, and Steven remembers that he flew in via helicopter for a photo opportunity. The Scout Pack was Greening Up along Interstate 89, a mile or so east of the Middlesex exit.

More Green Up Day remembrances to share.......

2010-04-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

Teri Emilo:
Hopefully with the public's awareness of the Earth and how important it is to keep it clean, many people will be out on Saturday cleaning up!! Happy 40th Birthday!! GREEN UP.

Connie Beal:
I believe it was Green Up 2006 that my friend, Jon Harris & I dressed up as Green Up Superheros! We were Americorps VISTAs and volunteered to play the part. We wore sparkling green wigs, spandex and the fabulous bright green t-shirt with a flowing cape. It was quite a day, hundreds of bags of trash were collected in Burlington. The green wig and spandex are now retired, but not forgotten. Every year, I get out there to green up our streets. Go green go!

Dean E. Haller:
I was a Rook at Norwich University and "was asked" to participate in Green Up Day in 1970. I do not recall the exact location we were assigned to and I really didn't understand the significance of the moment, but I was there. I left Norwich after my second year and attended Duquesne University. I married a wonderful young woman from my high school in Pennsylvania who attended Green Mountain College. We lived in Pittsburgh until returning to Vermont to raise our two young children in 1990. I now own a business, HRSentry, located in Colchester, VT. I will be participating in Green Up Day tomorrow thinking about the day and the person I was forty years ago.

Kris Rowley:
I participated in the first Green Up event. My church group was assigned Rt. 14 in East Brookfield into the Williamstown gulf. One thing that I remember finding on that day, besides tires and other trash, was a Norwich University cadet ring! It was in a box that was thrown out in one of the pull-offs in the gulf. At my young age I thought I had found the biggest treasure in the world! NU cadet rings are rather large. The adults in the group called NU and we returned the ring to the officials there. We later heard that the ring was returned to its rightful owner, who was very glad to have it back. I have participated in several Green Up events since that first one. It is a wonderful way to get outside, enjoy the beauty of our great state and do something to keep it looking that way.

Sandra Luneau Leclair:
I can remember participating in Green-up Day with my 4H group in St. Albans. My dad, who was a local dairy farmer, would hook up the manure spreader and we would clean all of Kellogg Road.

Lou Faivre:
2010 will be my 40th year volunteering for GreenUp. In 1970 my brother Allen from Connecticut was visiting on leave from the Navy and we were assigned to Route 7 in Brandon North from the Brandon Training School to the Brandon/Leicester Town Line. We ran out of bags and had to go back to the park for more. We found a lot of metal pieces from auto accidents as I remember. The Town Manager wrote a letter to my brother's CO to report his volunteer work for Vermont GreenUp.

Suzanne Babcock Dirnmaier:
I was at the first Green Up Day as a Girl Scout in the town of Barton. What I remember most was the number of bottles that we picked up. We covered a back road that ran from Barton to Orleans that obviously was a popular area to have a drink and throw out the bottle. I remember dreaming that night about picking up bottles that seemed endless. It was a tortured dream indeed. I owned until recently a plastic faux construction hat with the Green Up Day logo which we were given in the early years of green up. It was a little sad looking and when we were cleaning out my mother's house I was convinced by my sister who was less of a pack rat to part with it. She also took part in the early Green Up days.

Kathleen O'Donnell Porter:
I took part on the first Green Up Day along with my Girl Scout Troop in Bradford. We cleaned up one of the back roads in town. I saw your spot on Across The Fence. Amazing to see those paper bags!

William Eddy:
I grew up in Hinesburg and was a Senior in High School during that first Greenup Day. Several of us teenagers in town fanned out to clean up the roadsides. I was in two groups, one to clean up part of Rte 116 and another to clean up part of Pond Road. In addition to all the beer cans and bottles, I remember that we came across an axel to an old piece of farm machinery. We brought it out of the woods and waited for the town truck to haul it away.

Susan Bourne Laskaris:
I grew up in Burlington and was 12 in 1970. I was recovering from a broken leg, still on crutches. My family and I helped to clean up the cloverleaf entrance to Burlington. Every time I take exit 14W I think of that day. A great experience and a very fond memory. I'm just glad that it stays pretty clean to this day!

Cindy (Reeves) Fountain:
Greetings! I, too participated in the first Green Up Day in 1970. Our church youth group from the Congregational Church in Hartford Village, Vermont filled up a farm flat bed with the youth group. We were given green bags and I remember just how much we picked up. Of course, this was long before the days of nickle deposits. I also remember the fun, the pride of doing something worthwhile and the beauty of the state.
I had just had this discussion with my husband Norman and he didn't quite believe me when I told him the interstate was shut down. Thanks for verifying my memory.

Lisa Rivolta:
I lived in South Burlington and I picked up trash along I-189. As I remember it now I am amazed that they did close the interstates...I moved to Massachusetts after college but did participate several years when I was up here on vacation. Since moving back to South Burlington I have started participating again.

More Green Up Day Remembrances

2010-04-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

Larry Fortier:

I was the Green Up Day Chairman in the town of Hartland that first year. We had a large and enthusiastic turnout of volunteers and I remember how unique it was to clean up along Route 91 while it was closed in the morning. We cleaned along the Hartland-Quechee Road in the afternoon and were amazed by the items we found that had obviously been discarded many years before. I vowed after my experience in 1970 to never tolerate anyone throwing items from a car again.

Marie Anderson - Reading coordinator:

I currently live in Reading, but I was a 5th grader in Bellows Falls,VT at the time of the very first Green Up Vermont. I remember that it was a huge deal that year. They closed Interstate 91 so that everyone could green up, and I believe there was some cash hidden along the roadside to encourage participation. I greened up with our town, but in addition to that, our 5th grade class did a town beautification project and planted numerous bulbs in a small patch of earth in front of an historic hotel in the center of town that needed a little sprucing up as it had not been well-maintained over the years. We won an award from the state for this effort and were invited to the state house to meet the governor and to receive our award. It was quite exciting and I remember participating in green up for many years after that.......... I then had my first baby in 1989, and after several years of community/school volunteerism, I finally recognized that no one coordinated a green effort in our town, so I volunteered in 1999 and have been excited about it 'again' ever since!! I currently keep the elementary school involved by utilizing some enthusiasm from a younger helper, and have incorporated a scavenger hunt for coupons that get redeemed for prizes during the last two years. We also offer a small bbq lunch for anyone who greens up after the event.

Rebecca Boggess:

I was a junior at Brattleboro Union High School. I remember that we were bussed south of town onto Interstate 91 to clean the sides of the highway and the median. There was no traffic, it was a beautiful day and we hauled tons of trash. I am proud of the people in our state who continue to volunteer to keep Vermont clean and green.

Greg Roy

I was in the 4th grade at Ira Allen School in Burlington. My teacher was Sandra Rooney. We cleaned up Mansfield Avenue, from Pearl Street to North Street and then back across to Prospect and then over to Main Street. We were carrying our paper bags and we saw lots of cigarette butts and soda cans. We were surprised to see that most of the litter was thrown in front of the Degosbriend Hospital.

Carol MacDonald

I was a junior in high school in Westchester County, NY in 1970. My best friend Cam
Stephens had moved to Jeffersonville with her family the year before. When I heard
about Green Up Day, my buddy Danny See and I decided to drive up to Vermont to help
out! We arrived late Friday night and then spent Saturday with the Stephens' family
picking up piles and piles of bottles, litter, dead deer, tires and miscellaneous
bizarre objects from a section of Rt. 15 between Jeffersonville and Johnson.
Charlotte Stephens moved their old VW bus along with us - the side doors open with
piles of green-up bags and snacks. We were totally exhausted by the end of the day
but excited to have been a part of the momentous day! On Sunday, Danny and I drove
back to Bedford in his old hard riding jeep. It was rainy and cold and we had both
developed colds. Sucking on Horehound drops which were really nasty we drove for
hours down Rt 22. We didn't think we would ever get home. Neither of us has had a
Horehound Drop since! I subsequently moved to VT and now clean up Macrae Road in
Colchester.

Green Up Day remembrances

2010-04-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

Here are some Green Up Day remembrances from the first Green Up Day, April 18th, 1970:

Sally Britton
I was a freshman at UVM that first Green Up Day. My group cleaned up part of the interstate, somewhere near Burlington. Deane Davis stopped by while we were working. He picked up one of the bags of trash, which ripped apart, spilling the trash. There was a rush to pick it up again, as the camera person took a picture.

Sue Mahoney
I was working in the tax department in the building that now houses personnel in Montpelier. Our Commissioner told us that Governor Davis wanted "volunteers" to clean up the area around the State House and other State Office Buildings. I usually spent my Saturdays golfing but because I had only been a State Employee for 3 months I was volunteered by my supervisor. I think there were three of us and we cleaned up the area around our building and the bushes and the drive-thru window at the old Chittenden Bank. It was amazing how much trash there was in such a small area. I admit, I was not a happy camper because I was working on a Saturday (without pay or overtime) but I do remember the sense of pride I felt when I looked around and saw how nice everything looked without the trash. It made a lasting impact on how I feel about litter and littering.

Linda Langer
I was a freshman at UVM and they sent buses to pick up the volunteers. I worked along the Lamoille River in Milton. I was stunned to realize how much stuff was tossed and how much didn't go away. It has had a lifelong impact on how I treated the earth. I live in Richmond and continue to do Green Up Day. Now we do it with the help of neighborhood kids.

Hamilton Gillett
I was a sophmore at the Woodstock Country School in South Woodstock. I remember picking up litter on Route 106 between South Woodstock and Woodstock. I don't recall if I was with a school group or a community group. For some reason I associate that day with Woodstock's Frank Teagle and the decision to never again purchase eggs in a styrofoam carton. I've kept my promise for 40 years. I'm coordinating Green Up Day this year in my adopted town of Windsor.

Peter Dubois
I live in Randolph. My father was an Environmental Engineer and so Vermont's Green Up Day was a big deal to us! We were raised that littering was a real "no-no" and I guess as a little kid I felt we were doing Vermont justice.

Stephen Payne
I was 13......my family and I have cleaned up our part of the town of Cornwall every spring since.

Sue Moran Holden
I was 13 and cleaning up I-89 in Williamstown with my Mom, brothers and more.

Greg Ballou
Actually I was cleaning up Vietnam on that date.......

Scott Michael Mapes
40 years ago I was picking up trash along Interstate 89 in Swanton!

Richard Kirby
I was in the Boy Scouts (Colchester Troop #1). Ted Farnsworth, Scout Master, and twenty of us kids cleaned up the village on Bay Road. We had lots of fun! We planted sugar maple trees the next years for Colchester residents.

Were You There? Green Up Day 1970!

2010-04-21T09:24:00.000-07:00

Were you there on the very first Green Up Day, April 18th, 1970? We would love to hear from you! We have created a Guestbook on our website for you to sign in and share you remembrances on: http://www.greenupvermont.org/guestbook/index.php. Are you in this photo with Governor Deane Davis on Interstate 89, during the early days of Green Up? Or do you recognize someone? Let us know!

Green Up Vermont's 40th Anniversary Celebration

2010-04-02T09:22:00.001-07:00

You are invited to join us in celebrating 40 years of Green Up Day on May 1st, at 3pm, on the State House Lawn in Montpelier. Banjo Dan and the Mid-nite Plowboys and Bill Shontz will be performing. There will be food vendors, including the Ben and Jerry's Scoop Truck, serving, are you ready for this......EnvironMINT Chunk and Cleanup Brittle! Rain for shine, it starts at 3pm, and it is a free event. Come on out and join us!

Annual Green Up Awards banquet

2010-03-22T06:04:00.000-07:00

We are getting ready for the big day! Our annual Green Up Poster Design and Writing Contest Awards Banquet. It will be held this Friday evening at the Capitol Plaza. We will be honoring all the winners as well as the 2010 Governor Deane C. Davis Citizen of Year - Governor Jim Douglas! Governor Douglas has been a great supporter of Green Up Day during his time as Governor. Thank you Governor Douglas! The Awards Banquet has a long history, going back in time to when the contest began in 1980. In fact, I was a county winner in 1991, when I was at Mount Mansfield Union High School. I attended the banquet with my father and my art teacher. Now, all these years later, as Administrative Assistant, I put on the banquet. My photo of Lt. Governor Howard Dean holding my certificate, next to me with my winning poster, is displayed in my office!

2010 Writing Contest Winners

2010-03-09T05:35:00.000-08:00

The overall 2010 Green Up Vermont Writing Contest winner is Cassie Lee, Grade 9, of Pittsfield, Vermont. The winners in the state categories are: Zephyr Hill Barnes, Kindergarten, of Glover, who is the K-2 Category winner; Jordan Pelland, Grade 4 of Jericho, who is the Grade 3-4 Category winner; and Forest Campos, Grade 5 of St. Johnsbury, who is the Grades 5-8 winner. The 9-12 winner was the overall winner. Congratulations Cassie, Zephyr, Jordan and Forest!

You can read the winning entries at:
http://greenupvermont.org/contestwin.php

Poster Contest winner for 2010

2010-02-10T08:54:00.000-08:00

Our annual poster contest was judged on February 3rd. We received over 700 entries for Grade K-12. There was one overall winner, which will be this year's Green Up Poster, and three Statewide winners K-4, Grades 5-8 and Grades 9-12. Then there are 27 winners at the county level. The winning poster, above, is by Dakota Bedell, an 11th grader from Montpelier High School. Her teacher is Barbara Austin-Hutchins.

The other winners are listed on our website:

http://www.greenupvermont.org/contestwin.php

The writing contest winners will be announced in the next few weeks.

We will be holding our annual Awards Banquet at the Capitol Plaza on March 26th, 2010.

Green Up Vermont Fans for the 40th Anniversary!

2010-01-29T10:11:00.000-08:00

Green Up Vermont would love to get as many Facebook Fans as possible for the 40th Anniversary. If you are on Facebook, spread the word to all of your friends that we would love some more "friends". You can click on the widget down below on our blog and it will take you to our page.

Poster and Writing Contests

2010-01-05T11:59:00.000-08:00

There is still time to have kids grades K-12 enter the annual Green Up Vermont poster and writing contests. The posters need to be 11x14 inches. Visit our contests page on our website for more information:

http://www.greenupvermont.org/contests.php

Both school and individual entries are excepted - so homeschoolers are welcome, of course.

The deadline is always the last working day in January (M-F), so this year it is January 29th.

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T05:21:00.000-08:00

What an exciting year we have in store for us, the 40th Anniversary of Green Up Day! We are planning on sharing more history and Green Up Day remembrances throughout 2010. Have a wonderful and safe New Year's everyone!

December Giving

2009-12-02T06:41:00.000-08:00

It is December Giving time here at Green Up Vermont. Many non-profits, including Green Up Vermont, choose the season of giving as a time to ask people to donate to important causes. Most of our operating budget comes from private businesses and individuals. Please consider giving to Green Up Vermont, all contributions make a difference! You can send us a check, our contact information is on our website, or you can donate via Paypal, right through our website. Just go to the "support us" page and click on the donate button. You don't have to have a Paypal account to donate through Paypal, you can use your credit card.

Please consider supporting us today!

A Welcome Surprise

2009-11-11T08:29:00.000-08:00

We received a letter in the mail from a young woman in Bennington County, who of her own motivation, decided to do a community service project to benefit both Green Up Vermont and Clean Air-Cool Planet. Katianna Nardone chose to do this project in conjunction with her Jewish Bat Mitzvah (Jewish coming of age ceremony). She picked up litter on her road and challenged her donors to give based on every pound of trash that she collected over the summer. She writes in her letter to us, "A lot of people throw trash out their car windows on my road, and over the summer I picked up this trash off the road and kept track of how many pounds of trash I picked up in total. I picked up 52 pounds of trash, including bottles and canns, within a mile from my house."

Katianna donated half of the money that she raised to Green Up Vermont, and the other half she donated to Clean Air-Cool Planet, a non-profit organization which is working toward finding a solution to Global Warming.

Thank you Katianna for all of your hard work and for your commitment to your community and to the environment!

The First Green Up Day in Reading, Vermont

2009-10-30T07:48:00.000-07:00

Here are some remembrances given to us by one of our current coordinators, Mary Anderson of Reading:

"I currently live in Reading, but I was a 5th grader in Bellows Falls,VT at the time of the very first Green Up Vermont. I remember that it was a huge deal that year. They closed Interstate 91 so that everyone could green up, and I believe there was some cash hidden along the roadside to encourage participation. I greened up with our town, but in addition to that, our 5th grade class did a town beautification project and planted numerous bulbs in a small patch of earth in front of an historic hotel in the center of town that needed a little sprucing up as it had not been well-maintained over the years. We won an award from the state for this effort and were invited to the state house to meet the governor and to receive our award. It was quite exciting and I remember participating in green up for many years after that.......... I then had my first baby in 1989, and after several years of community/school volunteerism, I finally recognized that no one coordinated a green effort in our town, so I volunteered in 1999 and have been excited about it 'again' ever since!! I currently keep the elementary school involved by utilizing some enthusiasm from a younger helper, and have incorporated a scavenger hunt for coupons that get redeemed for prizes during the last two years. We also offer a small bbq lunch for anyone who greens up after the event. "

Were you there?

2009-09-23T06:36:00.000-07:00

We are gearing up for 40th anniversary celebration on May 1, 2010. Were you there, 40 years ago, on the very first Green Up Day, in April 18, 1970? Governor Deane Davis is pictured above with a troop of scouts on that day. We would love to hear your remembrances about the first Green Up Day and other comments you would like to share. You can comment here, send us an email: greenup@greenupvermont.org, call us at 802-229-4586 or even contact us through Facebook if you are a Facebook user. Whichever way you choose, please contact us with your stories!

Green Up Vermont celebrates its 40th Anniversary

2009-09-17T06:24:00.000-07:00

In honor of our 40th Anniversary, we have created a blog to highlight this special event. We will be posting 40th Anniversary news and Green Up stories here, so that you can follow us and hear some of the history of our annual event. Stay tuned........