GILES COUNTY CLEAN

UP DAY

A L E X E A T O N

PURPOSE

The purpose of the Giles County Clean Up Day is pretty self-explanatory.

Each year, usually the last Saturday in the month of March, Giles

County, Virginia hosts a Clean Up Day to clean up loose trash along the

sides of the highway and roads, the New River, and leaves the bags

along the side of the road for the Highway Commission to collect over

the weekend. Students and teachers mostly comprise those who

participate in the Clean Up Day. For students in the National Honor

Society, such as myself, the Clean Up Day is a mandatory activity to

earn semester service hours.

PEARISBURGPearisburg is where most

of the clean up day

takes place. There are

many homes adjacent to

the highway, as well as

Giles High School and

Wal-Mart, where most of

the trash is tossed from

cars and people passing

by.

RIPPLEMEADJust past Pearisburg is

Ripplemead, a small

community with several

homes and one major

auto parts business.

This is where I worked

mostly this past spring

but mostly just small

pieces of paper and

plastic are what is

found.

AREAS

PEMBROKEThere are numerous

businesses in Pembroke, Virginia, and it is also the farthest area that people travel when collecting garbage on Clean Up Day. It is about ten minutes by automobile from the high school, where everyone meets before collecting trash.

NEW RIVER VALLEY

The New River Valley is technically the entire area that surrounds the towns that have been mentioned thus far that are cleaned up on Clean Up Day. However, I think of the NRV as the areas bordering the New River that need desperately to be cleaned so as not to pollute the river.

AREAS (CONTINUED)

EFFECTS OF CLEAN UP

The effects of the Giles County Clean Up Day are extremely positive to not

only the environment, but to the participants as well. When students

and teachers clean in groups, they tend to talk and keep their minds

occupied while cleaning, which can help groups gather more trash as

well as make the time seem to pass faster. Though there are many

positive effects of the clean up, there are a few negative effects as well.

For example, if the Clean Up Day falls on a day in which it is damp

and/or rainy outside, people could get sick afterwards. Also, since there

are many glass bottles and aluminum cans on the ground, people could

cut accidentally cut themselves, which could cause infections if not

cleaned and treated immediately. However, the positive effects of the

Clean up Day outweigh the negative effects, which is why the Clean Up

Day is an annual success.

AFTER THE CLEAN UP DAY

Students and teachers are invited to gather at the King Johnson high

school shelter at lunchtime after the Clean Up Day. Most students

attend this event since free pizza and drinks are supplied as a reward

for the work done during the day. There is also a raffle that is done at

the end in which students can win free t-shirts, free admission to local

pools in the summer, and free tickets to various community events.

Most importantly, students can feel a sense of satisfaction and worth

from helping benefit their community by ridding the town of harmful

pollutants and debris which helps greatly in the sustainability of the

welfare of Giles County.