GreenWheaton and Community Service Week

When people are involved in their community, the community will be economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. Community Service Week, a week of community volunteering, wrapped up on Saturday, October 22 for GreenWheaton with clean-up efforts at Wheaton Regional Library and Veteran’s Park in Wheaton.

Dozens of volunteers came out to clean up the library grounds and the park. At the library, the volunteers also began planting a pollinator garden with plants donated from both Chesapeake Natives and the American Elm Park. Local Veterans from Foreign Wars and the American Legion also supported the clean-up efforts at Veterans’ Park, while Wheaton’s Stream of Hope Church sent volunteers to help with the Wheaton Library Cleanup. The church’s youth came to learn about constructively participating in their community. GreenWheaton is excited to see the Wheaton residents engaged in stewardship activities in our community.

GreenWheaton kicked off Community Service Week by volunteering at an information table at the World of Montgomery event at the Wheaton Triangle. Dozens of people stopped by the table to learn about sustainable landscaping practices at home. Wheaton residents live in either the Sligo Creek, Northwest Branch or Rock Creek watersheds. They learned that they can help their local streams and the Chesapeake Bay by using good stewardship practices at home.

On Tuesday, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., GreenWheaton volunteers conducted a paper shredding and reuse/recycling event in the Target parking lot at the Westfield Shoppingtown Mall. Approximately 50 people contributed 2,060 pounds of paper over a three-hour period to Office Paper Systems, a shredding company located in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Numerous household goods, gently-used clothes, and children’s items were collected and donated to Arc of Montgomery County, a non-profit organization that serves those with developmental disabilities. These items will sold at the Arc thrift store on University Boulevard in Wheaton. In celebration of Community Service Week, the Montgomery County government donated reusable bags for the participants to take home. GreenWheaton is encouraging residents to reduce their environmental footprint by using the reusable bags when shopping. Most participants were excited that we were hosting the paper shredding and hopeful that this would become a regular event.

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