Get Dirty to Clean Up Novato on April 9

If you have a few hours to put on some work gloves, work up a sweat and beautify Novato on April 9, the Novato Clean & Green Day organizers are looking for you.

Susan Stompe and Ed Schulze have co-chaired the all-volunteer annual event for 16 years, and it has become an important part of environmental awareness and a prelude to Earth Day with about 250 participants each year. The cleanup session is  sponsored by the city of Novato's Streetscape Coalition.

The event, set for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., will be headquartered at the gazebo at Scottsdale Pond. It is happening a bit earlier than usual this spring to distance itself from spring break in the public schools and to give the city a cleaning before Easter, Stompe said.

“I love to see the city when it’s all cleaned up,” said Stompe, a former member of the Novato City Council. “This provides an opportunity for people to participate. The major motivation is to give people the chance to help for a few hours and take pride in the city.”

Service organizations, nonprofits, churches and other neighborhood groups have been good about making a commitment to Clean & Green Day, Stompe said. Friends of Novato Creek, Rotary clubs, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, the Junior ROTC program, Indian Valley 4-H are among those that usually put groups together for the work day. She gave special recognition to the group from the Mormon church that has been cleaning up Slade Park for “years and years, pulling weeds, raking the sand around the playground equipment and hand-trimming bushes.”  

Other spots that get a lot of attention on Clean & Green Day include road shoulders along San Marin Drive, Binford Road, Redwood Boulevard, Novato Boulevard and park-and-ride lots. Large items found by the volunteers — such as shopping carts in the creeks — will be handled by city maintenance crews, she said.

Stompe, a 40-year Novato resident, reminds fellow citizens that trash blowing around usually ends up going into creeks or down storm drains and straight into San Francisco Bay and, eventually, the Pacific Ocean. “If there’s anything we can do to keep that litter from going that route, it would make me very happy,” she said.

All trash gathered in bags will end up in large bins supplied by the city. Volunteers should wear sturdy shoes and bring gloves. For more information, call 897-8969, 897-1610 or the Clean & Green Hotline at 899-8244.