Getting Ready for Green Up Day, May 7 and 8
by John Quinney,
April 21, 2011, page 2.....
And Hunt for Treasures at Home for SCHIP

It was a tough winter - colder than normal with more snow than many of us remember. We all got a bit tired of clearing snow from our driveways and front paths, never mind clearing a way for the oil and propane truck drivers. But now that wonderfully familiar spring magic is back. Lawns are showing some green. Daffodils, tulips and peonies are off to a good start. Some of us have dug our first spring crop of over-wintered parsnips, or delighted in the emergence of fall planted garlic. Buds are swelling on our familiar trees and shrubs.The birds are back… and so is the trash.
We have a fine “crop” this spring right here in Charlotte: soda cans, beer bottles, fast food packaging, coffee cups and some more exotic items. I’ve also received the first report of a large number of tires and an old TV set dumped off to the side of one of our dirt roads.
Fortunately, we have an opportunity to get out onto Charlotte’s roadsides on May 7 and 8 for Vermont’s 41st annual Green Up Day. Go to the Green Up Day web site at greenupvermont.org for some of the history of this wonderful Vermont tradition – including this account of the materials collected on the first Green Up Day on April 18, 1970:
“County Chairmen estimated that 90% of the litter consisted of beer bottles and cans. Other unusual items recovered were: $150 in cash, a dozen dead deer, one dead cow, a stolen purse belonging to a Boston, Massachusetts, woman, a refrigerator, one revolver, two safes, a sleeping bag, a fishing pole, a bathtub, one bed and many small dead animals such as voles, dogs, cats and raccoons.”
Fast forward to 2011 in Charlotte. Mark your calendars, start talking to your family, friends and neighbors, and help us get a large turn out for Green Up Day! If you’ve not joined us for Green Up Day in the past, this year is a great time to start.
Green Up Day really makes a difference in Charlotte. Every year, we pick up about two tons of trash, 70 tires and varying amounts of metal of one kind or another. Imagine how our town would look if that stuff were still littering our roadsides.
If you want to get an early start, Green Up bags are now available at Spears Corner Store, the Old Brick Store and the Town Hall. As always, we’ll be collecting filled bags at the Quonset Hut by Charlotte Central School during Green Up Days on May 7 and 8.
This year we have two additional Green Up Day activities:
1. Charlotte Park and Wildlife Refuge, 9:30 a.m. to noon, Saturday May 7
The Park Oversight Committee invites you to spend a morning working at the Park. We will be planting small evergreen trees, continuing the quest to remove invasive plants and putting the final touches on a project to plant shrubs in a riparian buffer. Meet at the parking lot on Greenbush Road. Please bring brush-cutting tools and work gloves. Refreshments will be provided. Contact Jessie Bradley at jrbradley@madriver.com or 425-3636, or Jenny Cole at colelogcabin@gmavt.net or 425-3105.

2. Drop Off Clothes for SCHIP’s Treasure Resale Shop, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Saturday May 7.
Bring your good, used unwanted clothing to the CCS Quonset Hut. Your donation to SCHIP supports people in need and worthy projects in Charlotte, Shelburne and Hinesburg. For more information, contact Tricia Coleman at 425-2980.

In the next issue of The Charlotte News, I’ll have all the details about this year’s Green Up Day activities. In the meantime, please contact me at 425-3773 or via e-mail to johnq@gmavt.net with your questions, concerns and news about areas of town needing special attention. Also, please let me know if there is a part of town that you’ll be “Greening Up.” See you at Green Up Day.

John Quinney
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Hunt for Treasures at Home
on Green Up Day

Go on a home treasure hunt Saturday, May 7, using SCHIP’s Treasure special Green Up Day donation wish list. Find one treasure or a few treasures and bring them to one of the following places: Charlotte residents drop off at the Quonset Hut at CCS; Shelburne residents at SCHIP’s Treasure Resale Shop; Hinesburg residents at the BBQ at the Town Hall.

SCHIP’s Treasure Green Up Day Wish List
Items should be new or gently used:

Women’s Apparel
Men’s Apparel
Kid’s Apparel
Shoes and Boots – all sizes
Jewelry
Linens
Housewares (no small nor large appliances, no
furniture)