Volunteers clean up Backlick Park
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| Volunteers in the Backlick Park clean up crew. |
Backlick Park in Annandale is clean and litter-free, after members of the Falls Church-Annandale Lions Club and local residents picked up trash during a Saturday morning cleanup project organized by Katie Clinton.
Since Backlick park was renovated last year – it has new playground equipment, a new pavilion, new, paved trails, and more – the community is making a special effort to keep it nice. Another cleanup is tentatively planned for the fall.
8 responses to “Volunteers clean up Backlick Park”
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sad that local users trash the park, cultural differences?
Most of our parks have lots of garbage in them, so it is nice to see a clean-up happen. Pretty sure that every culture has people who throw garbage wherever they are, so no need to try to disparage any one culture.
There is more trash in Mason than in a dump.
I've long believed that if everyone did a stream, roadside, or park clean-up at least once, more people would be far less likely to leave trash behind, and dispose of it securely in an appropriate place. Of course, that's me assuming that most people care.
Many people don't care and many of the new immigrants think that there is some municipal cleaning service. I have people on my street that leave trash at the curb and wont lift a finger to remove litter in front of their own house.
If the County is going to remain a Sanctuary City, then they should at least educate these newcomers or fine them for not picking up after themselves and their property. I literally have seen them drop their trash in front of their own house. I pick it up putting in a bag and leave at their front door with a sign to pick up after themselves. And when I see them I tell them, if you like being in America then get your lazy ass up and keep it clean.
This is a disgusting ghetto mentality and the DEMS do nothing in this County to put it in check. All they do is pander.
Early in my involvement in the Parklawn Civic Association, I worked with Mollie Loeffler and Richard Zambito in writing a grant proposal from Fairfax County – the NEPP Grant. In it, we requested and were awarded $5,000 which was more than matched in value with neighborhood volunteer labor. The main focus of the grant was the Parklawn Sign at Braddock and Columbia Pike. The remainder focused on litter awareness – yes, this was and remains indeed a problem.
What we did: we had anti-litter signs installed, we had two anti-littering banners that hung until the weather beat them up at Parklawn School and Glasgow, and we shared our literature with Kaye Kory who included it on her website.
The most impactful thing we did, though, and I did (and still do), was pick up trash. In all the research on anti-littering, the best thing a community is to clean up. Educating littering Americans is not easy. But if our fellow neighbors see a nice neighborhood, they will begin to change their behavior. And not just once a year in April: on every walk you take in the neighborhood, make it better.
That is what this "DEM" is doing to keep litter in check: doing, not complaining.
I grew up here in the 1970s which happened to be when this country's youth was barraged with anti-litter propaganda on TV, radio, and print. It may have been an expensive campaign, but it worked so well. I remember how casually I and my peers would litter before the anti-litter campaign, and how we stopped completely within months. To this day, I can’t help but carry trash with me for miles rather than toss it to the ground.
Whoever says all cultures litter equally, you are incorrect. I've been to 38 countries, and America’s post-1970s anti-litter culture is somewhat unique in this world. New immigrants did not have the benefit of our heavy propaganda campaign. I think the cheapest and most effective way to bring new immigrants into the fold would be for school teachers to educate their elementary school children on the topic. You know kids—they will immediately turn around and start “teaching” their parents not to litter. More importantly, some day they will be the parents.
We need more stories like this to foster positive reinforcement of good behavior and also to air perspectives/opinions on this important topic. Thanks Annandale Blog!