By Justin Bigos, Staff Writer
This Saturday, May 2, Vermonters will join forces to help clean up our Green Mountain state as part of the state’s 56th annual Green Up Day. Each town will focus on its roads, parks, and waterways to show some love for this place we call home.
According to Kate Alberghini, executive director of Green Up Vermont, which sponsors the event, last year 97.5% of Vermont’s town and city roads were cleaned up — and the goal for this year is 100%. Alberghini was also excited to talk about what’s new this year. “One new contest this year is the ‘Golden Gloves Contest’ for people picking up litter. It’s a social media campaign, and there are four categories. The gloves are donated by Vermont Glove out of Randolph, and they’re custom-engraved with the Green Up Vermont logo,” she said.
The several categories in the Golden Gloves Contest include: Most Miles Covered, Most Number of Bags, Most Unique Item Found, and Weirdest Recovery Location. Participants should share their clean-up photos on their Facebook page, including a tag of Green Up Vermont and a hashtag with the appropriate contest category. At the end of the day, one winner will be contacted for each category.
“Since Green Up Day is always on Kentucky Derby Day, we have a Kentucky Derby hat contest where people can make their hats out of recycled, repurposed, and reimagined materials, so it promotes reusing and reducing waste,” said Alberghini.
Towns across our area are adding their own unique flavors to the statewide event, including entertainment and special perks for participants.
As they have for many years, the Woodstock Rotary Club will again lead the efforts for Green Up Day in Woodstock. Bettyanne McGuire, president of Woodstock Rotary, told the Standard, “On the morning of that first Saturday in May, our club initiates an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ service project by assembling with like-minded community members on the steps of the Town Hall at 8 a.m. For the next two hours, we hand out Green Up Day sturdy collection bags and utilize a street map to spread out the workers to make sure we cover all of the roadsides. We also join in the clean-up process and have members at the drop-off point at the Town DPW [Department of Public Works] in West Woodstock to help oversee the proper distribution of items collected.”
In Barnard, residents should plan to arrive at the Town Hall between 7:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m., where they will receive an official Green Up Day trash bag, gloves, and snacks. All trash bags, once filled, may be deposited at the truck parked in front of the Town Hall, or at the transfer station, by 4 p.m. The town’s website advises, “Take your time, enjoy the walk, and plan to get a little dirty.”
In Hartland, residents can sign up for Green Up Day at Fire Station One in Hartland Three Corners, where they can find a table with a road sign-up sheet and bags. Residents can also sign up online on the town website if they wish to do greening up early, according to Ginny White, Hartland Green Up Coordinator. Bags are also available at Damon Hall.
“On Saturday, we will be giving free lunch vouchers to all volunteers to redeem for a bag lunch at Three Corners Market. Many thanks to Nathan and his staff for doing that,” said White. “I just wish to express my deep appreciation for everyone who works hard to keep our town clean. We really are lucky to live in such a beautiful place. Green Up Day is important for our community because it unites us and causes us to form connections with each other through a shared responsibility of caring for our earth.”
Bridgewater has partnered with Long Trail Brewing, which has had bags available to residents for over a week. On May 2, the brewery will open early (sometime between 10-11 a.m.) and host live music from 12–2 p.m., according to Marly Thompson, who organizes sponsorships and programming for Long Trail. Casella will provide a dumpster in the brewery parking lot for waste collection.
“It is also [Bridgewater] Raft Race day, a Bridgewater tradition,” said Thompson. “People put in homemade raft race rafts that they’ve built [into the Ottauquechee River] right at Long Trail Brewery. It’s just a huge day at the brewery because everyone in Bridgewater comes out to see people put the rafts in. So we said, ‘If it’s going to be a big day, let’s partner with Green Up Vermont and make it a really fun day,’” said Thompson.
Alessandro Iuppa, chair of the West Windsor Sustainability Committee and coordinator for West Windsor’s Green Up Day, told the Standard, “West Windsor residents have been enthusiastic Green Up Day participants for many years, and we expect that 2026 will not be any different.”
Official bags can be picked up on May 2 from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the West Windsor Town Hall. “Full bags can be dropped off at the Weathersfield Transfer Station [at 5024 Route 106, Perkinsville, Vt. 05151] during scheduled hours for no charge, or [residents] can put them in the West Windsor dump truck that will be parked at Town Hall until approximately 4 p.m. on May 2,” said Iuppa.
Marie Anderson, Green Up Day coordinator for the town of Reading, said, “Year after year — together — we pick up tons of trash and thousands of tires. Keeping our environment clean is good for our health, our businesses, and our property values. We also build pride in our cities and towns and teach our youth about powerful civic engagement that affects climate change. The town of Reading encourages everyone to participate — even if it is only for a short radius around your neighborhood.”
Residents can sign up for a section of road to clean — and also receive a free treat — on the front lawn of the Town Hall from 8-9 a.m. on May 2. The town also advises people to dress appropriately for the day, including wearing boots, gloves, and long pants to avoid ticks in long grass and brush.
A new event this year in Reading is a post-Green Up Day cookout and fundraiser sponsored by the Reading Elementary School PTO. The event will be “a way to gather with community members to celebrate our Green Up efforts,” said Anderson.
In Pomfret, residents who care to participate in Green Up Day can sign up for specific cleaning areas at the Town Hall on May 2, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. While there is no formal community gathering, the town still creates social interaction and camaraderie on Green Up Day. “It kind of happens informally, at the town garage,” said Pomfret’s Green Up Day coordinator Greg Greene. “People come together and bump into people they haven’t seen in a while when they’re picking up bags, choosing what area they want to do,” he said.
For more information about Green Up Day, visit greenupvermont.org
