The first annual Green up Day Green Valley Rally in The Valley went off without a hitch last weekend with festivities, food and a giant collection of empty cans and bottles and tires.
The Green Up Day Green Rally took place in front of the Mad River Valley Chamber of Commerce visitor center at the intersection of Routes 17 and 100 in Waitsfield on May 6, 2023.
It was a collaboration of the chamber, the Green Up Day directors from Warren, Waitsfield and Fayston, and Friends of the Mad River, the Mad River Bear Initiative, stewardMRV volunteers, the Mad River Recreation District, and others.
Chamber executive director Eric Friedman was very happy with the event and thanked the local Green Up Day coordinators for proposing a central location for people to bring Green Up trash and collectables.
“What was really nice about this was how it came together in the first place. It was very organic. The three coordinators asked if we’d provide a central place to work together and that got the ball rolling. Within five minutes of that conversation, it went beyond ‘let’s use your parking lot’ to let’s have a BBQ for volunteers and then a job fair for people to learn about ongoing volunteer opportunities with local organizations,” Friedman said.
“What was really gratifying was the sense of collaboration among all of the different groups. It was awesome. We’ve been trying to build that ethos of stewardship and we talk about it, but it’s sometimes hard to pin down. It was really palpable on Saturday,” he added.
Friedman said stewardMRV (which has local volunteers and community organizations stewarding and cleaning up local recreation access points throughout the spring, summer and fall) was having an impact and said that Green Up Day participants reported finding less trash in those locations.
“It’s noticeable. It’s working and it’s having an impact,” he added.
Once the Green Valley Rally was announced, Friedman said, volunteers and sponsors showed up unsolicited. Valley Meade sponsored the BBQ (and 100 people came to eat it throughout the day) and Andy Landry of Nor’ Easter Catering volunteered to prepare and serve the food.
“Having all the different community groups represented at the Rally was great. There was a lot of cross-pollination with volunteers from one organization learning about the work of others groups and learning about work they didn’t know was happening,” he added.
