Rid Litter Day Has a Long History in Bethany

This year, is Saturday April 24 and Sunday April 25.  Residents and organizations will be out picking up and bagging the litter in their neighborhood to include in their weekly curbside pickup. 

 Bethany started this event on Earth Day on April 22, 1970, forty years ago. At that time, , ecologist and first chairman of the Bethany Conservation Commission, proposed that the board sponsor a town-wide cleanup of Bethany’s rural roads in tribute to the special day. The commission backed the proposal and organized pickup squads with area captains and street lieutenants, with work to be completed by noon of the designated Saturday morning. Many young people, including Scout and 4-H groups, were involved in the day under adult supervision and have been ever since.

  Rid Litter Day was such a success and Earth Day generated such national enthusiasm, that the annual roadside cleanup has continued in Bethany ever since. The event has evolved to a less formal structure and is now held over the entire weekend to encourage more citizens to participate. In recent years, the effort has been led by three citizens, Liz Appel, Patricia Stewart, and George McDonnell.

 The citizens of Bethany have always had a strong interest in conservation, open space and the desire to maintain the rural character of their town. Although many other towns in Connecticut have held Rid Litter Days, Bethany was one of the very first towns to organize it in 1970 due to the efforts of Dr. Collins.

 In addition to serving as chairman of the Bethany Conservation Commission from its creation in 1962 to 1971, Dr. Collins founded the Bethany Land Trust in 1968, serving as an officer and director. He is Emeritus Professor of Biological Sciences at Southern CT State University where he taught for 26 years. He previously was a state forest ecologist with the . He has lectured widely on conservation subjects and been invited as an expert witness at local and state hearings. He is the author of various publications and a professional wildlife photographer.

 Earth Day was first proposed by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin in 1970 to focus national concern on environmental issues, from indiscriminate use of pesticides to growing loss of open space through unplanned development. Now, it is an American tradition.