By Maisha Hasan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
In the midst of football Sundays and spur-of-the-moment coffee runs family and friend gatherings seem less than purposeful nowadays. Sometimes, it’s good to get back to one’s roots and focus on giving back to the community at the same time. BurlingtonGreen is offering an easy way to give back to the community and help the environment, and they are adding a competitive slant to their long-running Clean Up Green Up campaign for added fun through the “Litter League” challenge, until October 31. (It is a busy time for BurlingtonGreen; read our coverage of their Action on Climate Change event, which took place on Oct. 19, here.)
I talked more about the event to Sue Alksnis, the volunteer, fundraising, and community engagement manager of BurlingtonGreen.
Tell me more about this challenge —how is it conducted?
Community members, families, or teams that are already planning to do a litter clean up as part of BurlingtonGreen’s city-wide Clean Up Green Up can add the Litter League Challenge to increase the impact of their activity by raising funds from their family, friends, or coworkers. There is an online platform we provide where they can create their own fundraising page, using handy templates. It is also possible to adjust the language to include your own personalized message and photographs. Then you simply let your friends know that you are doing a litter cleanup and you’ve challenged yourself to raise funds to support local eco-action through BurlingtonGreen, being sure to include the special donate link for your fundraiser.
How long has this been going on in Burlington?
The Community Clean Up has been hosted by BurlingtonGreen since 2011, and since that time more than 134,000 community members have joined this collective effort resulting in cleaner parks, streams, schoolyards, and neighbourhoods. The Litter League challenge was first introduced in 2023 as a way for Clean Up participants to increase the impact of their clean-up effort by also raising funds to support BurlingtonGreen’s work.
How does BurlingtonGreen use the funds raised through the Litter League challenge?
Funds raised through the Litter League go directly toward BurlingtonGreen’s impactful events and community programming right here in Burlington — a special place that we all value and love. Funds help BurlingtonGreen to further grow community awareness on priority environmental issues, amplify community voices for stronger government action, and accelerate solutions that collectively contribute to a healthier, more resilient environment, now and for the future. Pooled with other funding, Litter League contributions help make possible impactful opportunities for youth to learn about the environment and take concrete action for change, community engagement to reduce waste and switch to lower-impact transportation, and much more. Since its founding in 2007, BurlingtonGreen has worked with the community to plant almost 75,000 trees, shrubs, and grasses, inspired 10,000+ children to grow up green, and empowered thousands of local youth to take action for the planet.
Do you have any tips to further incentivize people to reach their goals or encourage them?
Set a fundraising goal that is achievable based on the size of your network. Gifts of every size make a meaningful difference through BurlingtonGreen’s work, so don’t feel like you have to raise the most or even a lot to participate in this fun challenge. You can also add some fun with a little light-hearted competition. A team could perhaps compete to see who gets the first donation, the highest number of donations, or raises the most funds.
After this event, what more can the community look forward to from BurlingtonGreen?
This year’s Community Clean Up (and Litter League Challenge) finishes up on October 31. Next year’s Clean Up will get started in March, with the most activity during April for Earth Month, when BurlingtonGreen collaborates with the city’s Forestry Department on our annual Green Up Tree Planting, inviting community members to plant native trees in a city park. In December, we’re excited to return to Burlington’s Santa Parade, where we’ll be raising awareness of eco-friendly ways to celebrate the holidays. We invite community members to sign up for our EcoNews to stay informed of our many opportunities to volunteer, learn, and take action for the planet locally.
By participating, you’ll be helping to create a cleaner, greener Burlington for everyone and joining in with the community in a fun and meaningful way to give back and support environmental initiatives. If you are interested in signing up or even helping support a team, head on over to BurlingtonGreen’s website for more information before the challenge wraps up on Oct. 31.
