Get Up & Clean Up!

Spring is here (officially, anyway), but trash and debris is especially noticeable after the snow melts. In April, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB) is busy every weekend on various sides of town, helping volunteers clean the streets and alleyways of unsightly litter.
This year, April 13 is the date eastsiders get out and spiff up the neighborhoods. A big push for volunteers started in February and has been building up to the big day.
Irvington’s participation in the April Great Indy Cleanup program has grown over the last couple of years. Here are the cleanups going on in the Irvington area on Saturday, April 13th:
• Paula Schmidt & Patricia Waters cleanup around South Butler Ave. Paula has also participated in the Adopt a Block program, and would love to talk to others about adopting their own blocks. Meet at 207 S. Butler at 9 a.m.
• Irvington Terrace Neighborhood is doing a cleanup of the Pennsy Trail (Chris Maroldo, Coordinator)
• Pleasanton in Irvington Neighborhood is cleaning up along both the east and west drives of N. Pleasant Run Parkway, from Michigan St to Washington Street (Dan Marshall, Coordinator)
• IndyCOG is cleaning up (on bikes) S. Pleasant Run Parkway, from Washington Street to English Ave. (Kevin Whited, Coordinator)
There are other hotspots for trash that still need volunteers to clean up, including East Washington St. throughout Irvington, the Shadeland/Washington Cloverleaf, and Ellenberger Park. Residents can get a few neighbors together and volunteer to clean up a block or two — or get really ambitious and take on a bigger area.
KIB supplies some tools, trash bags, and dumpsters to throw the trash in.
In Warren Township, the Warren Pride Clean-Up is one of the biggest in the city. Volunteers from Scouts and other organizations, plus individuals, cover the east side to Cumberland. This year, the Warren Township Development Association won’t be organizing the clean-up, but residents are encouraged to register at www.kibi.org.
Besides cleaning up trash, there are several improvement projects, including the Irvington Terrace Rain Garden on the Pennsy Trail behind Irvington Plaza. Volunteers are still needed for this project, a collaboration between KIBI and the Irvington Terrace neighborhood.