Green Up Day 2016

Posted on

2016 Green Up Vermont Writing Contest winner

Sirena Sawyer, Fletcher Elementary School, Grade 6

I love Vermont! It is my home, it has always been my home. One of the things I cherish most about this state is its natural beauty. In order to preserve this beauty, the community gathers once a year on “Green Up Day,” to clean up the environment and take care of all the animals that depend on it.

For me, Green Up Day is a day to get together with friends and family to celebrate the place we call home. I walk along the dirt roads with my neighbors, each of us with a green bag and a pair of rubber gloves. Every bag we fill with trash brings pride, for I know every piece of garbage we pick up makes a difference and ultimately brings our community closer together.

Vermont is a beautiful place, of green mountains and rolling hills. But trash dulls the sparkling silver waters and shades the lush green grasses. On Green Up Day, we gather to shine our rivers and lakes by removing cans and bottles from their shores. We return vibrancy to our acres by decreasing the number of shopping bags from their hilltops. With our help, little by little, the natural beauty rejuvenates.

Although Green Up Day is helpful to the environment, it also helps take care of all the creatures that depend on a healthy, clean habitat to survive. Every plastic bag you pick up means a turtle isn’t going to strangle itself or a bird isn’t going to die from suffocation, thinking it was food. Every piece of trash has an impact on more than just humans. For us, a piece of trash on the side of the road is gross. For some animals, it’s death. Us picking up garbage could help turn the forests and mountains from death traps back into a peaceful, safe habitat for the animals.

In other words; to me, Green Up Vermont means a healthier, happier, more beautiful environment for all the animals and for us to share with our friends and family. A place where the flowers grow a little faster, the rivers run a little stronger, and the sun shines a little brighter. For me, Green Up Vermont is the stepping stone to an altogether more beautiful world.

PS : Congratulations to the 2016 Green Up Day Poster Design Contest winners!

Overall Winner: Charlotte Brace, Grade 11, Montpelier High School