A Job Well Done

Back in April I wrote about our town's Clean and Green Day. That day the members of the town's Conservation Commission, chaired by my husband Paul, and assisted by several our of grandchildren spent many hours cleaning up a 10-acre parcel of land that has been donated to the town. Once a nursery but dormant for many years, the property is being donated by an elderly lady who wishes it to be named for her late daughter as a tranquility garden.

A valuable gift to our town. Paul and his commission have continued to work on the property in preparation for a granite sign to be delivered soon and a dedication in Dr. Monica's honor sometime this fall.

In addition to the general clean up of years of leaves and overgrown brush, they have also installed a split-rail fence and spread gravel for a visitors parking area. Below are some photos I took of the progress of the project. The photo on the right was taken this last weekend after the fence project was finished.

Here are some photos of the clean up in April.











These were taken after the first phase of the fence was installed during the summer. What a difference!





And here are more from last weekend in all its fall glory!

Sometimes a Hard Day's Work Feels Good!

Billed as a day to "put garbage in its place" the 7th Annual North Smithfield Clean and Green Day appears to have been a tremendous success yesterday. My husband, Paul, is Chairman of the North Smithfield Conservation Commission. He and the other commission members formed a team to clean up a parcel of land in town that is being donated to North Smithfield. He also enlisted the help of myself, Paul, Jr., and four of our grandchildren: Katie, Madeleine, Travis & Julia.

Left dormant for many years, the property was once a business, Green Meadow Nursery. As we raked the tons of leaves that have mulched down over the years, we uncovered daffodils, bugle weed, hardy geraniums, lungwort and a few others I couldn't identify. There are also two magnolias which were just getting ready to pop plus an enormous larch and an assortment of cedars, holly, rhododendrons & azaleas. It was a little like a horticultural scavenger hunt. Julia, Trav & Maddy helped clean up a shed and found a mouse nest. Katie just put her head down and raked and raked and raked.

Over the course of the day, 13 of us worked at the property. We raked, we clipped, we carted, we trimmed. We filled up a dump truck 3 times with dead branches. Teams of 2-3 toted a tarp loaded with leaves off to the side. We worked for a total of 43 man hours. When we finally called it quits at 3:30, the property looked beautiful!

This morning when I woke up, my sore muscles told me I had done a hard day's work but thinking back to what we accomplished, it feels good!

Earth Day 2009....The Green Generation

April 22 is Earth Day. First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day was the beginning of the modern environmental movement. Coming at a very turbulent time in American history, Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare coming together of people; enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the US Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts.

What began as an American grassroots demonstration on the environment with 20 million American participants has grown over the last 40 years to include more than 1 billion people worldwide. The Earth Day Network works with organizations all over the world to provide opportunities for all citizens to become active at the local, state, national and global levels.

On a much smaller, more personal level, my town of North Smithfield will hold its 7th annual Clean and Green Day on Saturday, April 18, in recognition of Earth Day. Volunteers (you don't have to be a town resident) will gather to cleanup roadways, parks and riverbanks in town. People can organize their own teams and either designate an area in town they would like to clean up or choose from a list of suggested areas in need of attention. For more information or to pre-register as a volunteer, check the North Smithfield Clean & Green Day website .

Paul and I will be working on a parcel of land recently donated to the Town of North Smithfield by the family of Dr. Monica Wawszkiewicz. Including several acres of land, the property will eventually be used as a Peace Garden in Dr. Monica's honor. We have enlisted the help of all the grandchildren and hope to make it a family day. Our whole family is very environmentally conscious, and this is one of many projects the kids have been involved in over the years.

If you'd like to get involved, let us know. If you don't live in North Smithfield or can't make it next weekend to help out in our townwide effort, you can always help by cleaning up your own property borders or around your own town, no matter where you are!