Clean City Things to Know & Do! 2021 Events - Earth Week, Walk Hampton Clean, Great American Cleanup! Bee City Pollinator Webinar! ACGA Conference! askHRgreen & Keep Virginia Beautiful! #DoBeautifulThings!
NEWS YOU CAN USE!
EARTH WEEK 2021 – RESTORE OUR EARTH (Earthday.org)
Did you know the very first Earth Day happened in April 1970 when Senator Gaylord Nelson created it to bring national attention to the ways our environment was slowly being destroyed? In December 1970, Congress authorized the creation of the EPA to tackle the crisis. We must all remember to do our part in ensuring that the air we breathe and the soil and water that sustains us lasts for more than just our lifetimes alone. It is especially important for us to remember that those living on the front lines of these environmental crises don’t always have the resources to deal with the damage. So, how can we make a difference? Participate in a local cleanup! Take action today! Visit Clean City’s Facebook page at http://bit.ly/3f3MdXf and let us know your plans for Earth Week 2021! https://www.almanac.com/content/earth-day-date-activities-history
(EPA History: Earth Day)
WALK HAMPTON CLEAN 2021 - Today through April 30, you can help spruce up city streets, neighborhoods, and more by joining Walk Hampton Clean.
Sponsored by the Clean City Commission, Walk Hampton Clean is a community celebration that coincides with Earth Day, April 22. It is designed to make Hampton a cleaner city. Individuals, groups, and businesses are encouraged to pick up litter and debris throughout their chosen day(s) through April 30. Go online to register and choose the area you want to help clean.
Because Hampton is a waterfront community, special attention is on stormwater drains. Residents are reminded that more than 75% of litter will end up in our waterways. By working together as a community and involving families, children, and organizations, we can reduce litter and create a cleaner environment. For more information, visit the Walk Hampton Clean website.
HCCC TOUR DE TRASH EXPRESS – NASA STEAM PLANT, aPRIL 9, 9AM-11:30AM - This is a perfect opportunity for you to find out just how your trash become energy. The NASA Steam Plant (Refuse-Fired Steam-Generating Facility) is where the trash is burned and reduced in volume by almost 85% before going to the landfill. As part of the HCCC/Public Works “Follow the Truck” series, you will be able to watch, listen, ask questions and learn. Due to COVID-19, group size is limited. To reserve your spot, please contact Cris Ausink, Clean City Project Assistant, to at causink@hampton.gov or 757-727-1158.
OYSTER GARDENING OPPORTUNITIES - 
Oyster gardening will take place Tuesday, March 30, 5:30pm at Sunset Boating Center, 800 S. Armistead Avenue. The longer springtime days will be celebrated and everyone can see how much the oyster “baybies” have grown! If you’d like to participate, wear clothes that can get wet/dirty, and wearing gloves (rubber dish gloves or gardening gloves) will be helpful. CDC guidelines will be followed, so please don’t forget your mask!
Kab gREAT AMERICAN CLEANUP CAMPAIGN - 
The Keep America Beautiful® Great American Cleanup® is the nation’s largest community improvement program. The Great American Cleanup is taking place this spring in communities just like yours around the country. Through a grassroots spring-cleaning movement, our affiliates, partners, and volunteers will create lasting impact by removing litter and debris from roads and shorelines, planting native trees, restoring trails, rebuilding public spaces, and much more. Whether you want to join HCCC for its cleanup events or simply pick up litter or plant a tree in your own neighborhood, contact Cris Ausink, Clean City Project Assistant at causink@hampton.gov or call 757-727-1158.
Please remember that your safety is our top priority, so we ask all participants to follow state and local health guidelines, wear facial coverings, and properly sanitize hands immediately following cleanup events. Feel free to download KAB’s safety guide for COVID-19 here.
HCCC COMMUNITY CLEANUP - Mark your calendars for Saturday, April 3, 10am for the next community cleanup on Doolittle Rd between King St. and Seldendale/LaSalle Rds. Volunteers will meet at the Langley Square Shopping Center (1109 N. King St.). If you were there for the March 6 Gloucester Street cleanup, you were part of a huge effort that got the job done! So, let’s do it again, ok? You must register to participate by contacting Cris at causink@hampton.gov or calling 757-727-1158.
AskHRgreen CLEANUP EVENT - AskHRgreen’s Great American Cleanup event begins Friday and Saturday, March 26 & 27. Today is the last day you can sign up through their website, so don’t hesitate to participate in this or any of the other GAC cleanup events happening the rest of March and in April! https://askhrgreen.org/programs/great-american-cleanup/
KEEP VIRGINIA BEAUTIFUL (kvb) SHIVER IN VIRGINIA CLEANUP EVENT! - KVB is hosting Shiver in Virginia, a COVID-safe clean-up event that runs until March 31. We're halfway through Shiver in Virginia and there's still so much more we can do to Keep Virginia Beautiful! Shiver is a great way for residents to get active while staying safe and give back to their communities. For additional information, contact Mike Baum (mbaum@keepvirginiabeautiful.org) and please follow them on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram for KVB event updates.
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KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL - #DOBEAUTIFULTHINGS - HCCC is a KAB Affiliate in good standing, and has been for several years. This year, we want so share all that we do here in Hampton with KAB’s #DoBeautifulThings as a way of showing everyone that ‘even in challenging times, people do beautiful things.” So, if you have stories and/or photos of you, your family, your neighbors, someone doing beautiful things in your community, send them to hccc@hampton.gov and they’ll be uploaded to the KAB website. Visit the KAB website for more information at https://kab.org/ and https://kab.org/take-action/volunteer/.
Hampton’s #DOBEAUTIFULTHINGS is shown below with Darius Swift and Fatima Cottle working the soil and helping to build new community garden beds; and families coming together to clean up Gloucester Street near the old Virginia Deaf and Blind School.
ARE YOU UP FOR THE CHALLENGE? - Looking for a place to recycle all your plastic? Sign your school or non-profit up and earn a bench! Take the Trex Challenge to #recycleright
https://www.trex.com/recycling/recycling-programs/.
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BEE CITY USA-HAMPTON RESILIENT POLLINATOR GARDENS WEBINAR - Did you know that one of every three bites you eat is attributed to a pollinator doing its job? They need our help! Join us for a webinar on Bee City USA – Hampton and learn about how you can create your own pollinator garden and join in the fun of supporting our pollinators! Email wendy.iles@hampton.gov to register!
AMERICAN COMMUNITY GARDEN ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE - Hampton has been selected as the site for the ACGA 2021 conference! Gardeners from all over the US and Canada will be coming to Hampton in September and touring much of the city. Does your church or business have a community garden? Would you like to volunteer? Would your business like to sponsor a local gardener to attend the conference? Email wendy.iles@hampton.gov To learn more about the ACGA, check this out: https://www.communitygarden.org/
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