Winslow Community Pride: Garbage and Gardens

You may not see how garbage and gardens fall under that same “Winslow Community Pride” heading, but they both reflect people’s perception of Winslow. The lack of garbage and abundance of gardens contribute to the beauty and well-being of both those who live here and those traveling through town.

A clean environment helps build pride. The more pride, the more people want to get involved. The more people get involved, the stronger the community becomes.

Here’s your chance to get involved.

This Saturday, June 1st, there are two great events that will contribute to the beautification of Winslow: a City-Wide Clean-up and the First Annual Garden Expo.

“Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much.”

—Helen Keller

The Clean Up

Trash makes a town look broken and Winslow is not broken—it just has an abundance of litter. A group of Winslow High School freshman decided to make trash their capstone project for the “Raise the Bar Project.”

My classmates and I believe that the trash in Winslow is a very large problem and should be a concern of the entire town, since Winslow attracts many tourists from all over the world and first impressions are everything, by keeping the town, as a whole, cleaner, we can project a more positive view on our small town.

Tristan Carrell

Tristan is right. With less trash, residents will feel better about their town and Winslow will make a better impression on visitors.

But how to execute this plan?

Their teacher, Winslow High School librarian Molly Jackson gave them an assignment:

• Determine what is the problem.
• Identify why it’s a problem.
• Collect data to prove it’s a problem.
• Come up with a solution.

The four freshman—Aydon DeSpain, Jackson Cox, Tristan Carrell, and Caitlyn Clark—ran with the challenge and came up with an idea for a community clean-up; a plan they then presented to Winslow’s city council.

You can watch the full video of their presentation on You Tube.

Litter is a community problem, something these teens recognize.

It’s a shame to see your city where you grew up have trash everywhere. People should get out there and have fun cleaning up.

Jackson Cox

It’s where we live and we need to start to keep it clean. Come out and help. It affects everyone in the end.

Caitlyn Clark

Citizens of Winslow, many of whom have been here for generations, should take part in the clean up day to help bring a sense of pride back into our community. Many complain, yet it always seems to be the same people that take action.

Tristan Carrell

And that’s just it. All residents need to step up and, as Molly Jackson says, DO SOMETHING. It’s easy to sit back and say:

SOMEONE SHOULD CLEAN UP THE TRASH.

Maybe that someone is you. From Councilwoman Samantha Crisp:

A dedicated community clean up day is important because if some of us step up and do the right thing, it is just a matter of time before it catches on and more people join us. Doing nothing, complaining, and waiting for someone else to make the effort doesn’t work. It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to make sure our town looks the way we want it to look. Do I feel it’s completely unfair that I have to pick up trash someone else left? Of course it is, but if I don’t, and you don’t, who will?

So here’s the challenge to everyone:

When you see trash, don’t walk by. Follow the example of these students and pick it up.

We are hoping that by starting this movement with our classmates and their families we can create a generation of service-minded citizens.

Tristan Carrell

Certainly these four fit perfectly into that category. They will walk away from this assignment truly understanding…

“How important it is for people to look outside of themselves and when there’s a need, fill it.”

Molly Jackson

Speaking of filling it…

Saturday, let’s fill these dumpsters.

Waste Management will place them at points throughout Winslow to be used for the disposal of trash and debris from neighborhood yards, alleys, parking lots, and fence lines.

Dumpster Locations

• Winslow Fire Sub Station on Frontage Road in Desert View.
• The empty lot next to the Maverick gas station.
• Winslow Chamber of Commerce Parking Lot (523 W. 2nd Street).
• Lot on the corner of Charlton & Short Street in Coopertown.
• South corner lot of James Street & Adams Street in South Side.
• Multi-Purpose Field, East Maple (Winslow Plaza).
• The empty lot on the corner of Fourth Street and Pope

Trash bags will available at City Hall and at the Outdoor Pool.

Contact Winslow City Hall at (928) 288-2422 for more information.

The Garden Expo

With trash and debris cleaned up, the beauty of vegetation can shine. If you don’t know how to transform your yard from a boring dirt lot to a lush bountiful garden, check out the First Annual Garden Expo at the Sweetland Community Garden.

Our goal is to do what we can to get more people interested in gardening and growing their own healthy food. The demonstrations on Saturday will help take some of the mystery of getting started planting a tree or building a raised bed if the soil isn’t good.

Linda Chambers, Sweetland Community Garden

The expo has a full day of activities, starting at 10 am.

The City has been very supportive of the Garden by letting us use the wonderful space. This is our third year and we’ve learned a lot and look forward to learning more. It’s also fun to work as a group on a project.

Linda Chambers, Sweetland Community Garden

Teaching Kids about Community Pride

Both of Saturday’s events are great opportunities to educate kids about the importance of community pride, plus, there’s something deeply satisfying about learning to grow things. Tasty too!

Make a full day of appreciating this wonderful town where we live. Winslow truly is a treasure. Share this link. Get the word out. Show these kids and the community garden folks how much we appreciate their efforts.

Until next time…

Take it Easy

P.S. Winslow will soon have a Farmer’s Market in the historic district! Stay tuned for details.

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