T.W. Richardson Grove Park was the site of the 22nd Annual Trinity Trash Bash, Keep Irving Beautiful’s yearly fall cleanup, held on Saturday, September 28. More than 500 volunteers (265 adults and 238 youth) were able to hold off the predicted rains which usually accompany KIB events until after the cleanup. The group gave 1,509 hours of volunteer service in collecting 2,680 pounds of trash and 400 pounds of recyclables. Volunteers were also educated and entertained by naturalist Jon Halsey, who brought his collection and displays of fossils and artifacts which he has collected from the area over many years.
A long-standing tradition of the Trash Bash (other than the rains) is the partnership and participation of North Lake College’s Alpha Zeta Eta chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, and this year was no different. Chapter members arrived at 8 a.m. to help set up, and continued helping throughout the day, by directing traffic, distributing T-shirts and supplies, working in cleanup crews and packing up at the end. They were also instrumental in recruiting volunteers from the college, including the Green Team and Service Learning students. Volunteers were as diverse as the city of Irving itself, representing numerous scout troops, faith groups, businesses, civic organizations and schools, including groups from all four Irving high schools
As has been the case for several years, the City of Irving was well represented at the event, starting with Mayor Beth Van Duyne’s official proclamation of September 28 as “Trinity Trash Bash Day in Irving.” The Parks Department reserved the park for KIB, while Solid Waste Services provided a roll-off container for both trash and recyclables and weighed the materials. After the cleanup, Code Enforcement and Housing and Human Services staff members and family prepared and served a hot dog lunch to the crowd.
KIB Board President Scott Wilson summed up the day by saying, “This annual event helps to make the city of Irving a cleaner, safer place to live, work and play, and we appreciate the efforts of our volunteers. This is the biggest turnout we have had since I have been associated with KIB, and it is great to see people of all ages and walks of life participating. We’d also like to thank our sponsors who make events like this possible.” Sponsors included VHA, Inc., Rambler Newspapers, Frito-Lay, Sonic, AcuGraphics, Fast Signs Las Colinas, Irving Family YMCA, Glory House, The Burb and Arnold Brothers Forest Products.
This year’s Trinity Trash Bash was held on the 20th anniversary of National Public Lands Day, and was one of more than 1,900 registered events taking place across the country on September 28. For more information on this, go to www.publiclandsday.org. To find out how you or your organization can participate in a volunteer project with Keep Irving Beautiful, go to www.keepirvingbeautiful.org.