Adopt One Block

We don’t have much litter on our block, so when I saw a Nextdoor conversation about helping to clean up litter in Portland with someone suggesting starting with one block, your own block, I thought I wouldn’t fill up a baggie, let alone a larger garbage bag. We are fortunate to live on a block and in a neighborhood with so little litter. But I thought, what the heck, I’ll look into the suggested program called Adopt One Block. Since we live close to Fremont, Beaumont Middle School, and Beaumont Village, I could go beyond my own block and pick up litter on the next block, or even the next block. So I signed up and within days I received a pack of disposable gloves, kitchen-size garbage bags, and a trash picker tool. Off I went, around the block, to the next block, up the street, and around the schoolyard. It is amazing how many pieces of papers, bottle caps, cigarette butts, and the like can be found when you start looking down along the curb, in the bushes, etc. Within a four-block area I picked up a full bag of litter. It was very satisfying. It could be a fun activity for your family, or alone … and a great conversation starter with other neighbors! Check out Adopt One Block at www.adoptoneblock.org, and don’t let it stop you if your block is taken, because the next one over, or the one after, could be available.