YOUNGSTERS, TOO Olin Yan helps his mother Jess tidy up along Main Street by Renaissance Park. Diana Fredenburg photo
Things are picking up around Manor, the county
With spring comes the annual Litter Pluck
By Jack Dusenbury-Dalto | Manor Ink
Livingston Manor, NY – Under the moody spring skies of a Catskills Saturday morning, volunteers geared up with gloves and trash bags in front of Sunshine Colony on Main Street to clean up the roads of Livingston Manor. Hosted by Sullivan Renaissance and sponsored by the Department of Parks and Recreation, the Litter Pluck relies on its residents to do their part and pick up trash. “Litter that you pick up is going to help save the environment and the animals, so it’s not getting into the streams,” said Parks and Rec Director Brian Scardefield.
BAGGING IT Volunteers Meg McNeil and Kevin Cooke brave the high weeds along the Willowemoc in town to remove trash that has collected over the winter months. Duncan Hutchison photo
This year, the program has high hopes for volunteer turnout. Towns across the county will participate by offering coupons to deposit trash for free after collecting it off of roads or trails. Because the program was extended from two weeks to six months, now extending to October 31, it was able to take off the streets 450 bags of garbage from April to June 2022. Scardefield said they even received 150 tires, three refrigerators and a TV.
Efforts like the Litter Pluck hope to spark more environmental awareness. Scardefield explained, “Summertime always sees the biggest influx of people coming in. So we’re hoping to get everything spotless. When you drive down roads, litter is a major issue that the county faces. We’re trying to come up with ways to get the roads cleaned up, get the area nicer.” Scardefield and the Division of Planning at Parks and Rec also partnered with Sullivan Renaissance during the county’s National Trails Day event.
But making county roads more beautiful does not come without precautions. For example, on roads such as Routes 17, 81 or 86, volunteers will need to have a permit from the state to pluck litter at these locations. To get involved, go to trailkeeper.org to find a location, then grab the required coupons from all town and village halls, the Parks and Recreation office or any of the county’s transfer stations. For more information about the Litterpluck, visit sullivanny.us/news/time-spring-cleaning-sullivan-county-0.