The town of Mansfield and the University of Connecticut Office of Sustainability will be co-hosting their third “Don’t Mess with Mansfield” litter cleanup event on Saturday, Nov. 8, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event is made up of two event blocks, with the first being run by Mansfield from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and the second being run by UConn from 12 to 4 p.m. Mansfield’s portion of the event will take place at Pleasant Valley Road and throughout the neighborhoods of Mansfield, followed by UConn-led cleanup sites across campus.
The UConn Office of Sustainability will be running cleanup sites on Hunting Lodge Road, Separatist Road, North Eagleville Road, Eastwood/Westwood Road and in the center of campus. The sites being run by the Office of Sustainability will have trash bags and gloves available for volunteers.
“This is our third collaboration for a litter pickup day, called Don’t Mess with Mansfield,” said Patrick McKee, Director of UConn’s Institute of the Environment and Energy. “We count that we have picked up more than 300 bags of litter on these workdays just around our campus. The students and key student organizations have also really stepped up to assist with keeping the roads picked up regularly. Preventing, and removing litter pollution from our local ecosystem aligns with many of the university’s strategic goals related to sustainability and more importantly fulfills a moral obligation to our planet, and our colleagues, friends, and neighbors who call Mansfield home.”
According to Virginia Walton, Mansfield’s recycling coordinator, although Mansfield held organized clean-up sites, a lot more of the work was done in neighborhoods and local parks; as a result, there wasn’t as much tracking of how many residents were at each event.
In a press release the town manager’s office stated, “the Town-University Relations Committee coordinated the ‘Don’t Mess with Mansfield’ cleanup efforts starting last fall in response to residents expressed concern last spring about the litter along roads adjacent to campus and all around town.”.
For independent groups or individuals who choose to participate, other town roads that need attention include Browns Rd., Chaffeeville Rd., Maple Rd., Pleasant Valley Rd., Mansfield City Rd., Stearns Rd., White Oak Rd. and Gurleyville Rd.
“It’s really important to foster community building with the town,” Anna Parker, Administrative and Sustainability Outreach Intern Coordinator said. “Nobody wants to look at litter, so make your campus beautiful as well as the town.”