STARKVILLE — Starkville Town and Country Garden Club members worked with student and staff volunteers from Starkville Academy from 9 to 11 a.m. April 19 to pick up 49 bags of trash along six roadways in and around Starkville for Earth Day.
“This was Starkville Academy’s fourth annual volunteer week for ninth-12th-grade students, and Starkville Town and Country Garden Club has collaborated several years with Starkville Academy to jointly pick up litter during volunteer week,” said Lynne Strickland, vice-president of Starkville Town and Country Garden Club. “Cathy Kemp, one of our garden club members, started the collaboration with Starkville Academy, and our partnerships have grown to also include the Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department, the City of Starkville Police Department, the City of Starkville Environmental and Sanitation Department and the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) District One Coordinator for Litter Prevention and Beautification Program, Leslie Pearman.”
Six teams of student volunteers and six staff from Starkville Academy were paired with 10 members of the Starkville Town and Country Garden Club to pick up trash in six locations, including Lewisville Street North, Lewisville Street South, Highway 389, Highway 12 West, Reed Road and Industrial Park Road.
Leslie Pearman from MDOT spoke to the students about the importance of not littering prior to the teams going out to their designated locations.
The trash pickup is part of the garden club’s Earth Day activities, which is officially on April 22 this year. According to earthday.org, Earth Day is now recognized as the planet’s largest civic event each year.
“Starkville Town and Country Garden Club’s Conservation and Environment Committee works throughout the year to educate club members and the community regarding the importance of protecting and cleaning up our environment,” said Christie Lawrence, co-chair of the committee. “We are very concerned with the amount of trash on our roadsides, and we are actively working with MDOT’s Anti-Litter Program Coordinator Leslie Pearman to help Starkville and Oktibbeha County access available state programs and funds for year-long trash pickup.”
“Partnering with Starkville Academy also allowed us to help cultivate a volunteer service mindset in the students,” said Strickland. “It’s so important for students to learn the importance of helping others and giving back to our community.”
The Starkville Town and Country Garden Club strives to improve the knowledge of its members through monthly educational programs, regional workshops, and the sharing of information and resources among club members and the community.
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