Bluegrass Greensource and Bluegrass Conservancy Partner for Elkhorn Cleanup

August 14, 2014By 0 comment

riddle cleanup

Friday, July 18th was a cloudy, drizzly day here in Central Kentucky but that didn’t stop volunteers and staff from Bluegrass Greensource and Bluegrass Conservancy from heading out to the South Elkhorn Creek in Scott County to clean up litter and debris. Owned by Bob and Laura Riddle, the Riddle Farm off Fisher’s Mill Road features a one-mile section of the South Elkhorn that unfortunately captures a lot of trash and litter as the Elkhorn flows from Fayette County and through Scott County, especially during the flooding season in the spring. Participants climbed down the bank and into the stream around 10am and continued cleaning up until 1pm, collecting over 1150 pounds of material from the stream and its banks. Items collected included 20 bags of trash, nine tires, a bale of metal fencing, and even the dashboard from an old piece of farm machinery. Most trash was easily picked up with litter grabbers but the tires, some of which were sunk into the mud, had to be partially dug out and then pulled out with the use of chains and Mr. Riddle’s tractor. As for the impact of this cleanup, Mr. Riddle talked extensively with Rebecca Smith of WKYT about how he remembers thousands of ducks visiting the Elkhorn in his childhood, but over time those numbers have dwindled. Since he has been working with Bluegrass Conservancy to help preserve his property, the ducks have started to return. And that, he thinks, is a very good sign.

This cleanup was held in partnership with Kyle Goodwin, Georgetown City Engineer.

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Downtown Trash Bash 2014

April 2, 2014By 0 comment

Help Keep Downtown Lexington Clean and Green at the 2014 Downtown Trash Bash

Come on out to the Downtown Trash Bash on Friday, April 18 and make our downtown more beautiful while helping to protect water quality in the Town Branch watershed!

Individuals and businesses are invited to join us any time between Noon and 4 p.m. at one of five starting locations, where we will provide the tools you need to help remove litter from our cityscape.

Our check-in booths are located at:

  • Fifth Third Bank Pavilion at Main Street
  • Thoroughbred Park at Main Street
  • Duncan Park on North Limestone
  • Jefferson and Short Street
  • South Limestone at Avenue of Champions

Each location will provide snacks and thank-you gifts for participants. Prizes will be given to the organization with the most volunteers, all organizations who register at least 10 volunteers, and the top 3 businesses with the most improved storefronts (must be within the Central Business District)! Event and registration details are available at downtownlex.com or by calling 425-2590.

In case of rain, the event will take place on April 25, 2014.

This year, we have partnered with the Downtown Lexington Corporation and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government to help expand the scope of this annual event to include multiple areas of downtown. We have been further assisted by our partners at the University of Kentucky Student Sustainability Council, Fayette Alliance, and NoLi Community Development Corporation in organizing the sign-in locations.

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Earth Day Main St. Clean Sweep

April 1, 2014By 0 comment

Bluegrass Greensource needs your help this Earth Day for our first annual Main Street Clean Sweep.  On April 22nd, employees from seven downtown communities throughout the Bluegrass region will work during their lunch break to  pick up litter and keep their Main Street clean.

BGGS_Main St Clean Sweep

In the past, Bluegrass Greensource has worked with numerous community groups on litter clean ups and helped collect over 150,000 bags of trash and recycled an additional 1,500 tons.

Cleanups are planned in Frankfort, Lawrenceburg, Harrodsburg, Irvine, Lancaster, Stanford, and Winchester from 11:30 – 1:30 pm, rain or shine, on April 22nd.  Bluegrass Greensource will provide trash bags, gloves, t-shirts (adults), and tattoos (kids) to participants at each location.  Click on your city below to see more details.  Click here to register.

[add_eventon event_type=”176″ fixed_month=”4″ fixed_year=”2014″ event_order=”DESC” ux_val=”3″ ]

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