Davis, who has lived in South Park for 16 years, said this year, the neighborhood decided to join forces with the Living City Project, an organization that regularly hosts cleanup initiatives throughout Dayton. A total of 18 neighborhoods across the city signed up to collaborate with Living City Project for this year’s Earth Day cleanup on Saturday.
Yellow Springs resident Trent Fisher joined the cleanup effort in South Park. Though he doesn’t live in the neighborhood, he said he owns land nearby and wanted to take part in collaborating with members of the community.
“It’s just about caring for the earth and caring for where you live,” he said. “I’m really impressed with the turnout ... it’s great that people come out and spend their time to do this.”
Burgess Gow lives and owns rental properties in South Park. This year was his first time getting involved in the official city-wide Earth Day cleanup.
“I’m always happy to lend a hand, especially when you’re actually making a difference,” he said. “There’s a lot of trash out there, some that’s been there for a long time, and you walk by it so many times that you don’t even see it. So, it’s nice to walk around with the intent to actually clean it up.”
Living City Project partners with the city of Dayton, Kettering Health, neighborhood directors, churches, and organizations to plan and execute its cleanup initiatives.
In 2022, there were more than 25 cleanups, 1,000 volunteers, and 131 tons of debris removed from neighborhoods across the city, according to the LCP website.
Davis said the collaborative cleanups help reinforce a sense of community.
“It’s satisfying to see the results of your work and to realize all of these people here just made a huge difference today, but the other part of it is that it’s a community builder,” she said. “It strengthens the bond of neighbors.”
Keeping a neighborhood clean also boosts the well-being of its residents, Davis added.
“Having clean alleyways and clean park spaces is foundational to neighborhood safety,” she said. “Studies have shown it’s one of the most basic things you can do to keep people a little bit safer.”
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