Green Up Day fosters hope in Waterbury community after a bleak year

By Jenny Koppang | Community News Service 

Waterbury resident Karen Miller drops off the bags of trash she’s collected at the town highway garage drop-off on Guptil Road. Photo by Jenny Koppang.

In honor of the 51st Annual Green Up Day, Waterbury residents braved morning snow flurries and afternoon sun beams to collect roadside litter. After a long winter of pandemic-induced isolation, this May 1st was an especially meaningful celebration of togetherness.  

“Green Up day is a great opportunity for individuals, especially in Covid time, to get back out and reconnect with their neighbors and with nature,” said Waterbury resident Karen Miller. 

This was Miller’s first time partaking in an in-person community event since the pandemic first hit, and she said that she cherishes the ability to engage the community again and do her part in keeping Vermont beautiful. 

Waterbury resident Bill Minter, who runs an afterschool program at Apple Tree Learning Center in Stowe, has dutifully volunteered at Green Up Day for as long as he can remember. He was stationed at the town garage on Guptil Road, helping unload towering bags of trash from a steady flow of cars.

Minter shared that he was particularly excited to finally hug his fellow vaccinated volunteers after a year of social distancing. As in every Green Up Day, he said he was impressed by the Waterbury community’s hard work and commitment to the cause. 

“It’s great to see people, businesses, and community organizations step up, say ‘here we are’ and contribute.” Minter said. 

Waterbury resident Bill Minter, a seasoned Green Up Day volunteer, tends to a steady stream of cars and collects their copious spoils of roadside trash. Photo by Jenny Koppang.

One of these community organizations, the Waterbury Area Trail Alliance, planted a table at the Perry Hill trailhead and distributed Green Up Day bags. 

Logan Shuman, a member of the group’s volunteer board, said that this was her first time participating in Green Up Day and she saw it as a wonderful way for people to pitch in and beautify Waterbury’s outdoor spaces. “This past year I think we’ve all been more isolated than we’ve liked to be, so an opportunity like Green Up Day where we can safely gather and make a difference in the community is important,” she said. 

Local business owner Dave Morse tackles the gnarly terrain off of Little River Road in search of discarded bottles and cans. Photo by Jenny Koppang.

Off of Little River Road, Waterbury resident Dave Morse scoured for discarded bottles and cigarette butts in the brambles. Speaking as the owner of Dave’s Community Fitness of Waterbury, Morse said Green Up Day plays a significant role in supporting small businesses that are dependent on tourism. “It’s important to the whole picture of Vermont; this is a tourist destination and not only do we not like to look at the trash ourselves, but we need to clean it up for our guests,” he said. 

UVM professor Matthew Dugan, his wife Heidi, and their neighbor Laura meticulously combed the guardrails leading up to Thatcher Brook Elementary School. Laura moved into their neighborhood right at the cusp of the pandemic and she said this Green Up Day has been her first opportunity to establish relationships within the community. 

“Laura put out a message to the neighborhood asking if we’d like to do this together, and it feels wonderful to be able to hang out and get to know somebody after Covid,” said Dugan. “We’re part of our tiny neighborhood but we’re also part of our bigger neighborhood here in Waterbury.” 

Left to right: Matthew Dugan, Laura, and Heidi Dugan are neighbors who were brought together for one of the first times by Green Up Day. Photo by Jenny Koppang.

Volunteers hauled their filled bags and other finds to two drop-off locations during the day. Downtown at Rodney Companion’s transfer station, a truck filled up fast with bags and random junk Green Up volunteers unloaded. A crew from SunCommon made multiple trips with more than 50 tires and bags of trash pulled  from Butler’s Pond along Route 2 by nearby neighbors.

Waterbury Green Up coordinator Lisa Scagliotti was at the town highway garage where a steady stream of cars and trucks filed through to unload bags of bottles and cans, random trash, and muddy tires, some sloshing with streamwater. Other notable items included a fender from a car, a plastic cherub sculpture, multiple crispy brown Christmas wreaths, and a pair of rusted metal axe heads. A like-new slightly dirty plastic sled sat off to the side in the hope someone might take it home.

Scagliotti said this year’s turnout was up significantly from last year when Green Up Day was postponed due to the pandemic and the governor’s stay home/stay safe order. “This is much busier than last year - more like a ‘normal’ Green Up Day and people are happy to see each other.” 

She said she would share an update on just how many people took part and how much they collected  later in the week after she compiled tallies from groups and received word on the weight of the trash container. 

Photo by Jenny Joppang

Green Up Day veteran and administrator of the Mad River Resource Management Alliance, John Malter recalled how he drove a Vermont National Guard truck during the very first Green Up Day in 1970. Fifty-one years later, he arrived at the town garage to show his support while driving his Toyota Highlander displaying his one-of-a-kind “RECYCLE” license plate. 

“Green Up Day is not only about beautification, it’s about team-building,” Malter said. “It makes me proud to be part of Vermont and to see how many people really cherish what we have.” 

Malter said he was encouraged to see Waterbury families and young people gather to offer their time and energy, especially in such unprecedented circumstances. 

“Green Up Day is not just the first Saturday in May. Green Up Day is every day.” Malter said.

John Malter attended the very first Green Up Day in 1970 and continues to support annual event 51 years later. As administrator for the Mad River Resource Management Alliance, his work involves coordinating disposal, reuse and recycling of a wide range of materials for local communities. Photo by Jenny Koppang.