The City of Laramie is asking students and community members to consider a day of meaningful community service once again this year in preparation for families arriving for graduation and as a general service to the natural environment. The annual community clean up is headed by The City of Laramie and many other Laramie businesses and community groups.
An incredible amount of windblown trash accumulates throughout the city of Laramie during the winter. The set-up for Community Cleanup Day will be on May 5, in front of Laramie City Hall from 7:30-9 a.m. People wishing to participate are asked to meet here to receive trash bags, high visibility vests, which are optional and sign up for a specific area in town so that resources are used most efficiently.
“We know that there are certain areas that people probably want to focus on, but it’s important for us to coordinate and make sure that we spread people out so that we get the entire community picked up and not just one area,” City of Laramie Code Enforcement Inspector Brian Forster said. “This is my 11th year being a part of the Community Cleanup and my 10tth as the supervisor.”
The Laramie Community Cleanup Day is a growing occasion from year to year. The first year the Community Cleanup started they had around 180-200 people show up to volunteer. The amount of people that generally participate now is around 500 volunteers.
“We see the same people year in and year out, but we certainly want to expand and increase the numbers and popularity of this event,” Forster said. “It really is a great family occasion to begin the conversation about civic duty, community and our environment.”
A couple families have already signed up and the Boy Scouts are involved as well. The City of Laramie also coordinates with the University of Wyoming’s Service Leadership Community Engagement Office to include students and student groups in the community experience.
“I’m one of those people who gets to wherever they’re going on campus with a handful of other people’s litter so I’m always ready to lend a helping hand,” UW Graduate Erin Waddell said. “Kick in a lunch and I’m an even bigger fan.”
The City of Laramie will also be providing burgers and lunch for volunteers behind City Hall. Anyone who is unable to attend the cleanup can arrange with the city for city dump vouchers and trash bags.
This year, due to scheduling issues and the fact that finals is a tough time to make more commitments, The UW SLCE has scheduled their student-oriented cleanup day for Apr. 21st in conjunction with Earth Day. The City of Laramie is helping coordinate which areas the SLCE led group will focus on cleaning.
“The fact that the City of Laramie’s Community Cleanup Day falls right during finals makes it tough for us to draw a substantial amount of students, so it’s tough for us to get involved on that specific day,” University of Wyoming Community Engagement and Service Coordinator Richard Raridon said. “Keep an eye out for us during the UW Sustainability Conference and be sure to check out the UW SLCE website to sign up for a responsibility.”
In the past, trash bags, high visibility vests and a lunch have been provided to community members as a part of the clean up. Last year trash bags and vests were available the morning of the cleanup at Laramie’s City Hall.
“It may even be a refreshing activity for those suffering from test anxiety or trying to break up the monotony of final exams,” Forster said.
The annual activity is meant to be a community spring-cleaning and preparation for people from around the country visiting Laramie during University of Wyoming graduation.
