Aiming to empower residents to help remove litter from parks, the city of Gaithersburg will hold three trash-grabbing community workshops Aug. 27, according to a Wednesday press release.
The Gaithersburg Parks, Arts and Recreation Corporation (G-PARC) is collaborating with the city’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture and the Public Works stormwater Management Division to hold the free workshops, according to the release. Registration is required.
Participants may register for “Art of Trash Grabbing” workshops at Morris Park Pavilion at 520 Summit Hill Road here, Griffith Park Pavilion at 9 S. Summit Ave. here and Lakelands Park Pavilion on Main Street here. Events are from 10 a.m. to noon. A rain date is scheduled for Aug. 28.
At the workshops, artists will teach participants to decorate metal trash grabbers with environmental messages and themes. Participants may use their newly decorated tools during a park cleanup after the workshops.
Tracy Rouleau, chair of the G-PARC Alliance for Parks, said the city holds city park trash cleanups four times each year.
“Our hope for this project is that we will start to create an army of trash warriors across the city who use their decorated trash grabbers to bring attention to the problem of litter in our environment, and make trash cleanups just a little more fun,” Rouleau said.
Trash grabbers, art supplies and park cleanup materials will be available. Participants should bring their own water, sunscreen and insect repellent.
Workshops are recommended for those over age 5. Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. Students can earn service learning hours by participating.
A grant from Keep Maryland Beautiful, Forever Maryland, Maryland Environmental Trust and Maryland Department of Transportation provided some of the program’s funding.
Christine Zhu of Gaithersburg, a rising junior at the University of Maryland who is studying journalism and Spanish, is the Bethesda Beat summer intern.