HCCC News: March 24 - 30, 2018
GOOD TO DO & KNOW!
Spring is a busy time for us – we’d appreciate anything you can do to help and participate! Thank you for doing your part in keeping Hampton Clean and Beautiful!
Kudos to the Tarrant Patriot Operations Center Cleanup Crew! These brave people pulled 28 bags of trash and an unknown weight of debris from the creek behind the former Tarrant Elementary School, now the Patriot Operations Center. The strong and the brave were Betsy McAllister, Marie & Rory Hendricks, Brad Ausink, Rebecca Corcoran, and HCCC staffer Cris Ausink. When the final report on the weight is in, we’ll let you know.
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Thanks also to the E Street Community Cleanup Crew! Monique Gatling, Cheryl Johnson, I'esha Winn, Velva Goodman, Jervone Bowens, and Thomas Goode hit E Street the second time in three weeks on March 16 (the first time was February 23) and cleaned up an additional 14 bags of trash and 98 cigarette butts, and this time made it all the way from Briarfield Road to Aluminum Avenue. That brings the total number of bags collected in the two cleanups to 34, and 432 cigarette butts. The volunteers the first time around were Ryan Adams, Jervone Bowens, Thomas Goode, Velva Goodman, Roger Hathaway, Claire Neubert, Teresa Schmidt, and I'esha Wynn.
Extra special thanks to Jervone, Thomas, Velva, and I’esha for coming TWICE to E Street!
COMING THIS WEEK OR NEXT!
Rain Barrel Workshop! Friday, March 23, 1pm, or Saturday, March 24, 9am, HCCC Office, 1296 Thomas Street. Learn how and why to make a rain barrel, take yours home, and then make some more! $50 registration fee covers barrel and fittings. Register at https://va-hampton2.civicplus.com/FormCenter/Hampton-Boards-Commissions-Committees-5/Rain-Barrel-Workshop-Registration-127.
Additional date: April 14 (1pm)
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Hampton Master Gardener Brown Bag Workshops with VCE Hampton Master Gardener Lise Schioler, Container Gardening, March 27, ViGYAN conference room, 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM, Free to the Public! Brown bag lunches welcome, pizza is available for a nominal donation at the ViGYAN conference room.
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Read Hampton’s draft TDML (Total Maximum Daily Load) plans for the Chesapeake Bay and Back River and COMMENT on them! The deadline for comment is April 2.
These plans address the maximum amount of pollutants that a body of water can receive while still meeting government water quality standards. Although there are separate Total Maximum Daily Load plans covering different bodies of water – the Chesapeake Bay and Back River – there is some overlap, and the city seeks separate comments for each one. Add your voice and opinion!
How to Comment: The City accepts comments by hand-delivery, e-mail, fax, postal mail, and online. All comments and requests must be in writing and be received by the City during the comment period. Submittals must include the names, mailing addresses and telephone numbers of the commenter/requester and all persons represented by the commenter/requester. The online comment form is https://hamptonmarketing.wufoo.com/forms/zt15ecg190avyq/
The Contact for Public Comments, Document Requests and Additional Information for both plans is Dr. Sharon Surita, City of Hampton, Public Works Department, 22 Lincoln Street, 4th Floor, Hampton VA 23369; E-mail: sharon.surita@hampton.gov; Fax: 757-727-6123.
The public may review the Back River Bacteria TMDL Action Plan at the Public Works Department by appointment or may request copies of the documents from the Dr. Surita. They're also linked below.
Please make sure you comment on them separately so your comments will be clear and counted.
Back River: http://hampton.gov/DocumentCenter/View/20870
Chesapeake Bay: http://hampton.gov/DocumentCenter/View/20869
Comment Online: https://hamptonmarketing.wufoo.com/forms/zt15ecg190avyq/
COMING THIS MONTH
STILL NEED VOLUNTEERS! Volunteers Needed to Distribute Know Your Zone Stickers to Hampton Households! Are you part of a group that could help distribute large numbers of stickers on trash days starting in April? Public Works would very much appreciate your help! We want to make sure everyone knows which zone they live in so they will be better equipped to respond to emergency messages. Sign up at hccc@hampton.gov.
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Visit a Hampton Waterways Restoration Project Oyster Gardening Demonstration at one or both of two local marinas! The schedule is designed to make it easy for you to come whenever you can! Register for a tour or to help oyster garden at causink@hampton.gov. Small groups are welcome!
Schedule for Dandy Haven, 374 Dandy Haven Rd:
Sunday, April 1, 8:30am (yes, the volunteers know it’s Easter Sunday, they wanted to go ahead with the gardening.) Looking Ahead: April 14, same time
Schedule for Sunset Creek, 4337 Kecoughtan Rd:
Thursday, April 5, 5pm
Looking ahead: April 28, 11am
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Litter & Recycling Awareness Committee Meeting, Thursday, April 5, Mama Rosa’s Restaurant, 617 E Mercury Blvd, 11:30am – 12:30pm. Discuss upcoming cleanups and litter-free events.
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Tour de Trash, April 6, 9am – 3:30pm
Join HCCC and the Tour de Trash Hosts on a fascinating tour of trash – where it goes, what happens to it, how you can help. We’ll be visiting Bethel Landfill, the VPPSA Composting Facility, the Hampton/NASA Steam Plant, Branscome Construction, VersAbility Resources, and TFC Recycling. Minimum age 8 years old, must be able to board a school bus and walk a short distance at a leisurely pace.
Register at hccc@hampton.gov or call 727-1130.
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YARDS Judges Training, April 9, Hampton Clean City Commission Office, 1296 Thomas Street, 10am – 3pm, lunch provided. This volunteer opportunity is a monthly commitment May through September, second Monday of each month, 8:30am; information at hccc@hampton.gov
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Hampton Clean City Commission Meeting, Tuesday, April 10: Hampton Clean City Commission Office, 1296 Thomas Street, 3:30pm, information at hccc@hampton.gov
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Mercury/LaSalle Interchange Cleanup, Saturday, April 14, 9am – 10:30am. Thanks to volunteer cleanup leader Janet Tucker we are cleaning up the LaSalle & Mercury Interchange! What a mess it is! We need lots of adult volunteers to clean up the ramps and sections of Mercury and LaSalle leading to the ramps. Invite your friends, family, coworkers, and others to join in. You must sign up to participate! Sign up at hccc@hampton.gov by April 12.
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Water Conservation in the Garden, Saturday, April 14, Buckroe Community Garden, 710 Buckroe Ave, Hampton, Virginia 23663, 9am – 10am. Learn to be water wise in your garden through planning and utilizing conservation methods. This class is inside the Buckroe Community Garden. Register to attend at http://hampton.gov/FormCenter/Hampton-Boards-Commissions-Committees-5/Community-Garden-Event-Registration-Form-132! Kid-Friendly!
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Water Quality Monitoring, April 16, 1pm, Back River and Elizabeth Lake. Contact Cris at causink@hampton.gov or 727-5811, or Claire Neubert at dcneubert@hotmail.com.
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Clean & Green Workplaces Committee Meeting, April 17, Goodwill Employment Center, Room 235, 1911 Saville Row, 3:30pm, information at hccc@hampton.gov
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Nettles Lane Community Cleanup, April 20, 3pm! This beautiful Hampton road gets littered a lot because it’s less populated. Please come out to help us on Friday, April 20, 3pm. Sign up at hccc@hampton.gov.
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Walk Hampton Clean, April 21 - 28! Pick a site, pick a date, pick a time, and pick up your supplies! Let’s make Hampton sparkling clean in celebration of Earth Day AND keep a LOT of trash out of our waterways!!
Sign up at https://hamptonmarketing.wufoo.com/forms/z1o5pr4p10cibga/.
Contact Cris Ausink for information at causink@hampton.gov.
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STILL NEED VOLUNTEERS! International Children’s Festival, Mill Point Park and Downtown Hampton, 10am – 5pm! We need volunteers to provide litter-free event cleanup throughout the festival. Email hccc@hampton.gov if you’d like to help!
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Community Collection Day April 28, Goodwill Center, 1911 Saville Row, 9am - Noon! SAVE THE DATE! Electronics, household goods, non-perishable food and monetary donations for the Peninsula Foodbank, plastic bags, and more will be collected! Watch for additional news! We’ll need volunteers to help with the collections, too, so email hccc@hampton.gov if you’d like to help! Partners are Foodbank of the Virginia Peninsula and Goodwill of Virginia.
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Cleanup volunteers: The list of extremely littered spots is growing! We really need your help! We’ll be adding some additional community cleanups, but we would welcome your willingness to plan a cleanup at one of these sites:
- Aberdeen Rd Turnaround at Wendy’s on
- Big Bethel Road
- Freeman Drive (would you believe it needs to be cleaned AGAIN?)
- Hall Rd ditches
- Hampton Roads Center Parkway at Big Bethel Road
- Hampton Roads Center Parkway at Armstead Avenue
- Harris Creek Rd ditches
- Mercury Blvd at LaSalle Avenue
- Old Buckroe Rd ditches
- Pine Ave
- Quash Street
- River St Park shoreline rocks
- Tucker-Capps wooded area
- Tyler/Settler’s Landing/I-64 at HU Intersection
- Victoria Blvd HRT parking lot on houses side
- Village Drive
If you’re willing to help out: hccc@hampton.gov or 727-1130
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NEED VOLUNTEERS! Organizations that would like to join in the Creation Care Day are welcome to contact Jan Spencer at mspencer 11@cox.net! If you would like to attend, save the date in your calendar! Also, HCCC will be there with a display – would you like to help with the display? Contact hccc@hampton.gov.
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Volunteers Needed for Hampton Community Gardens! Volunteers who can cut, nail, and/or screw together garden boxes are very much needed by our Hampton Community Gardens! The Community Garden Coordinator needs to build a compost bin and five raised bed boxes at North Phoebus Community Garden and a compost bin at Phoebus Community Garden. Contact Hampton VA Community Gardens at wendy.iles@hampton.gov to sign up! Do something good for Hampton!
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Our friends at Virginia Cooperative Extension’s 4-H Program are looking for an adult female volunteer to take to 4-H camp the week of July 23rd - 27th. If interested or if you know of someone, please contact Mrs. Baker at kllucas@vt.edu or call VCE-Hampton office at 757-727-1401. The camp is held at our Jamestown 4-H Educational Center in Williamsburg.
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HCCC History! June 28, 2018 will be HCCC’s 40th anniversary, and we’re highlighting volunteers and achievements from the past to the best of our ability. If YOU have photos, stories, experiences, or mementos that you would like to share with us, we’d love them! In the regard to the mementos, please send photos of them. J The following are stories we posted this week, with a little extra information:
HCCC History! St. John's Creek Clean-up, March 17, 2007, with Pat Parker, Shirley Boyd, and others.
HCCC History! Boy Scouts participated in a Tour de Trash of their own on March 17, 2012.
HCCC History! Arbor Day Tree Planting, March 17, 2001, Jamal Pittman and Kathy Pitts, among the volunteers, planted trees in front of the Social Services Building on LaSalle Avenue.
HCCC History! Cub Scout Pack 13 cleaned up Forrest Elementary School, their Adopt-A-Spot, on March 19, 2014.
HCCC History! YARDS Judges Training, March 19, 2003. Among those present were Erica Kane, Mary MacDonald, Grady Wesson, Loye Spencer, Shirley Boyd, David West, Chris Bartlett, Becky Terrill, and Jim Williams.
HCCC History! The Hall Road Community Cleanup Crew, including the Litter Awareness Committee and others, March 22, 2014. In this photo are Dennis Van Camp, Chair of HCCC, Jess Chandler and son, and Pat Parker, Chair of the Litter Awareness Committee.
HCCC History! Mary Peake Center 4th Graders cleaned up the school grounds on March 23, 2007.
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The Trex Plastic Bag/Film Challenge is coming to an end! April 15th is the day schools report in their final collection weights. Now is the time to help them by offering plastic bags for their collection. Call to ask if they want them! If they don’t, take them to a grocery store or other retailer
Hampton schools participating in the Trex Plastic Bag Challenge are:
- Aberdeen Elementary School - (757) 825-4624
- Asbury Elementary School - (757) 850-5075
- Burbank Elementary School - (757) 825-4642
- Forrest Elementary School - (757) 825-4627
- Hampton Christian Academy Lower School – (757) 838-7427
- Langley Elementary School - (757) 850-5105
- Phenix PreK – 8 School - (757) 268-3500
- Spratley Gifted Center - (757) 850-5032
Call them and ask if they want your plastic bags and case wrapping!! Here’s a list of acceptable bags and wraps:
LDPE / HDPE Films * Newspaper Sleeves * Bread Bags * Product Wrap * Cereal Liners * Food Storage Bags * Ice Bags * Pellet Bags * Produce Bags * Dry Cleaning Bags * Grocery Bags * Case Overwrap * Packaging Air Pillows * Salt Bags
Share information about our upcoming events!
GOOD TO REMEMBER!
Recycle all your plastic food, beverage, and household containers!! Yay TFC Recycling for including all plastic household containers in their list of recyclables! Take advantage of the opportunity! Yogurt cups – check! Applesauce cups – check! Syrup bottles - check!! Just remember – NO foamed plastic (“styrofoam”)! If you’d like some guidance, visit the Round Robin episode on recycling plastics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbsuPXIFBiQ&list=PL3761D4B106784B15&index=7.
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Drop-off Recycling Information – if you live in an apartment or condominium and don’t have recycling provided by your management, or if you have a lot of extra recyclables for some reason, you can use one of Hampton’s three drop-off containers! They’re located at:
- Hampton Yard Waste Site, 100 North Park Lane (just off Big Bethel Road)
- Briarfield Park, 1540 Briarfield Road
- Gosnold’s Hope Park, 900 Little Back River Road
All these sites accept the same materials that are accepted in the curbside recycling program! Including the cartons and plastics!
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2018 Community Cleanups Schedule
- April 20, 3pm – Nettles Lane
- May 18, 3pm – Big Bethel Road (W Park Lane – Isaac Lane)
- June 15, 3pm – Milford Avenue/Bright Street/Westwood Ave/Shell Road
- July 20, 9am – Lee Street (Armistead to South Armistead)
- August 17, 9am – Darling Stadium
- September 21, 9am – Shell Road (Algonquin to Colonial)
- October 19, 3pm – Shell Road (Pine Ave to Childs Ave)
- November 16, 3pm – Aberdeen Road (Briarfield to Wingfield, including Wingfield)
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Nominate a Clean & Green Workplace for an award!
If you know of a business that fulfills many of the following criteria, nominate them for a Clean & Green Workplaces Award by contacting hccc@hampton.gov:
- Litter-free efforts apparent (examples: litter-free premises, trash and/or recycling containers, signage, litter containment measures, ash receptacles near entrances of buildings, litter prevention procedures in waste disposal and loading areas, participation in the Adopt-A-Spot program)
- Attractive premises (examples: neat appearance, tastefully colorful exterior decor, inviting entrance, flowers and floral displays, hanging baskets, art work, murals)
- Contributions to community, community partnerships, donations, sponsorships (examples: contributions to greening the community with youth participation, Hampton Clean City Commission committee or project participation)
- Recycling and/or waste – reduction efforts (examples: participation in one or more recycling programs, use of city composting, purchasing recycled products, paperless billing efforts, stocking reusable tableware in office breakroom or kitchen, reducing or eliminating the use of harmful chemicals, sponsoring school recycling efforts)
- Urban forestry (examples: preservation or planting of native trees, trees used to shade parking lot, donations for planting public trees)
- Sustainable landscaped areas that are attractive and beneficial to local wildlife (examples: pollinator gardens, water wise landscaping, organic and bee safe practices, employee vegetable gardens)
- Energy conservation practices (examples: sensor lights in restrooms, use of awnings or plantings to shade windows and buildings in summers, lights off rules for rooms not in use, use of renewable energy options)
- Water conservation practices (examples: sensor faucets and toilets, xeriscaped landscape, water recycling efforts in manufacturing, low-flow toilets, participation in water-quality volunteer programs like oyster gardening and waterway cleanups)
- Overall impression of workplace (examples: curb appeal, customer friendliness, inviting atmosphere)
- Heritage preservation (examples: heritage tree protection, adaptive reuse of historic buildings, heritage garden landscaping, support of Hampton heritage preservation efforts)
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If you have some sheets and blankets that are too good to throw away or recycle, but not really good enough to give to a charity, the Peninsula Regional Animal Shelter is the perfect place for them! Drop them at 5843 Jefferson Avenue, Newport News, 8am-5pm 7 days a week, or call 757-933-8900 for information.
ANNOUNCEMENTS!
Looking for Recycling Feedback: What do you need to know to be the best recycler you can be? Email hccc@hampton.gov
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Looking for NEWSLETTER Feedback: What do we need to do to give you a newsletter you can use? Email hccc@hampton.gov
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Looking for nominations for:
PLAN AHEAD FOR MEETINGS!
All HCCC meetings are open to the public, and we welcome your participation!
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April 9: YARDS Judges Training (Beautification Committee), Hampton Clean City Commission Office, 1296 Thomas Street, 10am – 3pm, information at hccc@hampton.gov
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April 10: Commission Meeting, Hampton Clean City Commission Office, 1296 Thomas Street, 3:30pm, information at hccc@hampton.gov
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April 12: Hampton Waterways Restoration Project Meeting, Fort Monroe Community Center, 100 Stilwell Drive, 6:30pm, information at causink@hampton.gov
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April 17: Clean & Green Workplaces Committee Meeting, Goodwill Community Employment Center, 1911 Saville Row, 3:30pm, information at hccc@hampton.gov
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May 3: Litter & Recycling Awareness Committee Meeting, Mama Rosa’s Restaurant, 617 E Mercury Blvd, 11:30am, information at hccc@hampton.gov
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May 16: School Pride In Action Committee Meeting, Panera Restaurant, 2170 Coliseum Dr h, 4:30pm, information at hccc@hampton.gov
LOOKING FOR COMMITTEE MEMBERS!
Hampton Clean City Commission Board – oversees the programs and projects of the Hampton Clean City Commission and focuses on recognizing volunteers, board members are appointed by City Council. Contact hccc@hampton.gov for more information. Fill out a Board Bank application at https://hampton.granicus.com/boards/forms/239/apply/623877?code=34def5d9-e341-4ae1-9448-a571250065f4.
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Beautification Committee – works on a variety of projects including the YARDS Contest, tree tours, beautification projects, and education. Contact hccc@hampton.gov
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Clean & Green Workplaces Committee – works on the quarterly Clean & Green Business Awards, the Virginia Peninsula Clean Business Awards breakfast, and other workplace related projects. Contact hccc@hampton.gov
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Hampton Waterways Restoration Project – works on a variety of clean waterway projects, including shoreline cleanups, water monitoring, and education. Contact causink@hampton.gov
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Litter & Recycling Awareness Committee – works on cleaning up Hampton through special cleanups and the Adopt-A-Spot program, as well as encouraging litter-free events, solid waste education efforts, and trash tours. Contact hccc@hampton.gov
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School Pride In Action Committee – educators (formal and informal) who encourage environmental lessons and activities in the classroom and on the school grounds, as well as emphasizing teacher education. Contact hccc@hampton.gov
