Vermonters are out today in little groups, cleaning up the roadsides all around the state.

We like to keep things clean around here… well, most of us. There are a few who throw garbage out their car windows. Probably most of the junk that ends up along the roads blows out of the back of pick-up trucks and isn’t seen by the responsible parties. But somehow all that stuff has to get cleaned up.

In my particular village, the drinking water comes from ground wells. We also have a reservoir up the mountain, but either way we drink water that is very local. It’s tested and chlorinated, but we feel a particular responsibility to keep things pretty clean around here because it directly effects our health.

You can read the history of Green Up Day here. Every first Saturday of May, we pick up some free green garbage bags from the fire station or town offices and go find a forgotten roadside to clean. This year, my mother-in-law was here to help and we had a great (if muddy) time finding all kinds of garbage along a road that is part of my favorite bike route. The bags can be tied up and left by the road for the town to pick up or they can be taken to the fire station and tossed in the back of a truck with other junk: old rusty metal chairs, tires, and broken things of every kind.

We all came home feeling good for having participated in a long-standing community service project. And, with any luck, we’ll be a little more careful about what flies out of our car when the windows are rolled down.

Happy Green Up Day!