Leave It Better Than You Found It: Clean Up Miami program, Miami. Fla - Brief Article

Parks & Recreation, Jan, 2003

The Boy Scouts of America might not be the first organization that comes to mind when you think about urban beauty, but don't tell that to the group's South Florida Council. It has provided the bulk of the "boy power" for trash-removal programs such as Clean Up Miami and a similar effort in Fort Lauderdale. One hundred or so Scouts participate in the one-day clean-up projects, removing litter and debris wherever they find it. Waste-hauling giant BFI Waste Systems of North America provides bags, gloves, bins and trucks for the projects. Local vendors donate post-clean-up meals for the Scouts. The Boy Scouts and BFI plan community clean-ups in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties.

"It was a lot of fun," Bill Gundlach, Boy Scouts programs vice president of South Florida Council, said after attending the Fort Lauderdale clean-up with his son. "The event helped to ingrain the Scouts with community awareness and responsibility. It's important for responsible citizens to learn at an early age to become caretakers of their community." Luigi Pace, Broward County general manager for BFI, also attended the Fort Lauderdale event with his son. "Everybody can give money, but to invest your own time and equipment has more value," he said. "If you don't take care of where you live, nobody else will."

Each month, Leave It Better Than You Found It highlights a site or program that improves a small slice of our earth. If you know of a worthy candidate for inclusion on this page, write to sdouglas@nrpa.org. High-quality-photos are a must.