Get Out and Clean-Up, Green-Up Greenfield

This year marks the the 20th anniversary of Greenfield’s Clean-Up, Green-Up Day, a collaborative effort to rid city parks and green spaces of litter.

Joan Stevens of Greenfield's Beautification Committee coordinates with schools, organizations and interested parties who will “de-litter” parks and green spaces in the city Saturday. Around 2,000 people participate in the program each year, according to Stevens. 

“It’s best to start children when they’re young to understand not to litter,” Stevens said. Children who participated in Clean-Up, Green-Up Day at its beginning are now old enough to impart that message on their own children, Stevens said.

Garbage bags and valuable coupons, including one for a free day at the zoo or a county pool, are provided for volunteers by the Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful, Inc., an environmental non-profit organization. Check-in and supply pick-up is from 9-10:30 a.m. at .

The clean-up effort gives the city’s Parks and Recreation Department staff an invaluable head-start on keeping public areas beautiful, according to director Scott Jaquish. City parks see less active use in the winter and harsh winter weather blows garbage around, which then gets trapped in nature, Jaquish said.

“The amount of volunteers that participate in that and the amount of man-hours it saves is tremendous,” Jaquish said. “It also helps those neighborhoods take ownership of those parks.”

City Hall flower planting

Further into spring, the Beautification Committee will plant flowers outside  at 9 a.m. June 4. The committee coordinates with the Parks Department to choose flowers to match the annual citywide color scheme and purchases seeds from a nursery in January. 

Members of the committee including horticulturalists and master gardeners will be on hand to plant a 50-flat of flowers, as well as any volunteers who bring their own trowel and children accompanied by an adult, Stevens said. 

For more information about Clean-Up, Green-Up Day or the City Hall flower planting, contact the Greenfield Beautification Committee at 414-545-3381.