Neat Neighborhoods competition new in 2024
After thousands of volunteer hours logged and tons of litter and trash collected since 2021, the Clean Green Springfield community cleanup initiative is back in 2024 with new opportunities and fresh challenges.
The City of Springfield and partner organizations are launching the 2024 Clean Green Springfield initiative with a fresh series of city-wide cleanup and disposal activities planned during April and May. Individuals, families, businesses, neighborhoods and service organizations are invited to roll up their sleeves and participate in one or more opportunities including: roadside trash pickups, stream cleanups, neighborhood cleanups and more. Special disposal opportunities will also be offered for items that are difficult for residents to dispose of, including mattresses, tires and bulky items.
Registration for Clean Green 2024 volunteer opportunities will open Monday, April 1. Keep an eye on cleangreensgf.com for more details on special disposal events coming soon.
A new component of Clean Green Springfield, Neat Neighborhoods, will launch this spring and is patterned after the Tidy Towns tradition rooted in Ireland since 1958. This community challenge has found its way to Springfield, thanks to the Hatch Foundation, marking the start of an exciting competition aimed towards a cleaner, greener and happier city.
Erin Danastasio, executive director of the Hatch Foundation, noticed an unusually neat and clean environment in the towns and villages she visited during a recent trip to Ireland.
“I asked the locals, how do you keep your town so clean? Without hesitation, most mentioned Tidy Towns,” she said. Intrigued because of the Hatch Foundation’s ongoing support of Clean Green Springfield and other community improvement initiatives, Danastasio started researching Tidy Towns. She shared what she learned with Cora Scott, the City of Springfield’s director of Public Information & Civic Engagement, who was excited to make it available in Springfield.
In Springfield, the competition will be organized across the four City Council zones. Registered neighborhoods within each zone will compete against one another, fostering a sense of friendly competition and camaraderie. The competition will award one neighborhood in each zone as a winner with a total of four winning neighborhoods each year.
This hands-on approach not only gets the community involved but also lets us take a personalized look at the special projects each neighborhood is diving into. The Hatch Foundation is donating $10,000 to each of the four winning neighborhoods. First-place winning neighborhoods in each zone will win $6,000, with second place winning $3,000 and third place winning $1,000, Scott said.
“As we dive into the new Neat Neighborhoods competition, the spirit of Clean Green Springfield, born from collaboration and a shared commitment to positive change, becomes a key player in our quest for a tidy town,” said Becky Volz, president of the Neighborhood Advisory council. “It’s not just about tidying up; it’s about leaving a lasting impression and being proud of your neighborhood.”
The competition is divided into five categories, each contributing to a total possible score, with the score being a reflection of the collective efforts and achievements of participating neighborhoods. The categories cover a broad spectrum including community planning, public spaces, green spaces, streets, tidiness and more.
Since some neighborhoods are located in two Councilzones, the Neat Neighborhoods committee created a list that placed each neighborhood into the competition zone that Volz and others felt most appropriate for the sake of even distribution of the neighborhoods.
More details about Neat Neighborhoods and other 2024 Clean Green Springfield opportunities can be found at CleanGreensgf.com.