Woodlands summer cleanup campaign encourages environmental consciousness

Twin sisters Nicole Devitt, left, and Ariel, 9, clean up litter in their neighborhood earlier this month during The Woodlands Township's summer cleanup campaign, “Look Out for Litter.” Zoë Killian, an environmental education specialist with The Woodlands Township, said the summer clean-up initiative builds upon the Adopt-A-Path program but is geared for adolescents. less Twin sisters Nicole Devitt, left, and Ariel, 9, clean up litter in their neighborhood earlier this month during The Woodlands Township's summer cleanup campaign, “Look Out for Litter.” Zoë Killian, an ... more Photo: Courtesy Of Tunde Devitt / Courtesy Of Tunde Devitt Photo: Courtesy Of Tunde Devitt / Courtesy Of Tunde Devitt Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Woodlands summer cleanup campaign encourages environmental consciousness 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

The Woodlands Township has kicked off its annual summer cleanup campaign, Look Out for Litter. Now in its fourth year, the push to maintain a clean community encourages children and teenagers under 18 to clear their neighborhood or parks they visit of common debris such as plastic grocery bags or discarded paper cups. Upon completion of the program participants will receive a free ice cream and t-shirt (as long as supplies last).

Zoë Killian, environmental education specialist with the township, said the summer initiative builds upon the Adopt-A-Path program but geared for adolescents.

“Any member of the community can adopt a pathway. It can be families, neighbors, businesses, and this is building on that. Look Out for Litter was designed to encourage younger members of our community to create a habit of looking after the environment,” Killian said.

Participants must fill out a daily “litter log” which can be downloaded here to record what type of waste they picked up and disposed of properly: dirty paper or napkins, bottles, cartons, styrofoam, candy wrappers, clothing, batteries, cigarette butts and more. Drop-off locations for items that can be recycled also are listed on the website.

“It’s designed to get them out there to see the common types of litter and realize there are ways to reduce that,” Killian said. “Doing that litter log, they’re not just picking up litter; they’re really recording and seeing a pattern, which is important for the young mind.”

Tunde Devitt’s twin daughters, Nicole and Ariel, are 9 years old and have participated in the Look Out for Litter program for the last four years. Devitt explained that she started educating the girls about environmental responsibility early in life.

“We try to teach them when they’re young to respect the environment,” Devitt said, noting that the pair began collecting litter when “a trash bag was bigger than them.”

Participants must pledge to pick up three pieces of litter per day for three weeks, complete a daily litter log of the items, and submit the log to the Township’s Environmental Services Department to receive a T-shirt while supplies last and coupon for a free ice cream cone. Logs must be signed by a parent or guardian and submitted by Aug. 21.

For more information, visit the township website. Questions can be emailed to enviro@thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov or call 281-210-3927.