Armed with a neon vest and the claws of his trash grabber, Dennis Head is ready to make a difference in his neighborhood of Lowry.
“We have a lot of people driving through and throwing junk out their windows,” Head said. “Stuff gets blown in. We just find there's a lot of trash.”
For years, Head — the treasurer of Lowry’s registered neighborhood organization — has seen a handful of neighbors try and tackle the trash issue alone.
But now, Head and Lowry United Neighborhoods (LUN) have come up with a coordinated solution.
Enter “Litter Free Lowry,” a program designed to clean up the community by driving neighbors out into the streets.
“It's kind of like an ‘adopt-a-highway’ thing,” Head said. “So what we wanted to do is focus on the areas that we thought had the biggest potential problems, and that might be around the parks and on the main thoroughfares.”
The program will officially launch on Earth Day.
LUN has identified over 30 routes for neighbors to adopt, and most of them have already been claimed by residents ready to pick up trash.
Using money granted to Lowry United Neighborhoods by Denver City Council member Amanda Sawyer’s office, as well as money independently raised by the organization, Head was able to procure a bunch of neon vests, trash grabbers, stickers and yard signs to gin up support for Litter Free Lowry.
To launch the program, LUN is hosting an event on Tuesday at the Lowry Montclair Rec Center to celebrate Earth Day and hand out supplies to those participating.
The goal of the program, ultimately, is to foster community pride and encourage people to take care of their surroundings, Head said. He hopes people will see others picking up trash and be encouraged to join in, whether they live in the community or not.
“It is an ongoing program and this is a good way for you to go out with your best friend and take your walk and get your steps in and do some good while you're at it,” Head said.
Lowry isn’t the only neighborhood doing something to celebrate Earth Day.
Don’t feel down if you’re not a Lowry resident but still want to participate in Earth Day.
Several registered neighborhood organizations will throw their own Earth Day events over the next week.
The Washington Park East Neighborhood Association is handing out free wildflower seeds to help create a “pollinator corridor” for birds, bees and butterflies.
There are many neighborhood cleanups scheduled as well. The South City Park and Five Points neighborhood organizations are just two groups that have scheduled local cleanup events.
