By Laura Bailey
One team heading out for this year’s annual St. Vincent DePaul fundraiser has something different in mind when it comes to walking the 2-mile route.
“I thought we could put together a team that would go out and walk the walk and pick up what’s on the ground in that area,” said Jillian Romann. “We’re in the process of getting some t-shirts made by one of the teachers at Bristol Central. At this point, we’ve got about 10 people joining us.”
Romann is a member of Bristol Beautified, a group of Bristol residents who came together earlier in the year to express concerns surrounding the amount of trash, especially nip bottles, strewn around the city.
Many of the group’s members take a hands-on approach, devoting hours of their time cleaning up the city’s parks and streets. Those who are participating in the Shamrock Run & Walk will clean up the Chippens Hill area during the 2-mile walk beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 18.
The St. Vincent DePaul Society is the primary benefactor of the event. Other charities in the area receive some of the proceeds. This year marks the event’s 20th anniversary.
“We’re trying to come up with more ideas to get this information out to people and really bring light to the problem,” said Romann. “We really do have an issue with trash here in Bristol. We’ve got the nipper problem in particular that is pretty crazy, and then the trash on top of that is just as bad.”
Picking up litter became a regular part of Romann’s life during the early days of the pandemic. Her then-2-year-old daughter had been playing on Memorial Park Boulevard when Romann noticed how much trash was by the water.
“I was like ‘Ooh this is kind of gross,’” said Romann, “so let’s clean up what we can that’s down here, and it’ll be a little bit more fun for her to play.”
“More recently, I’ve been working on cleaning up where my daughter’s bus stop is on Willis. It’s kind of crazy to see our youngest kids hanging out on the corner waiting for their bus to come, and there’s nip bottles all over the ground and all sorts of trash blowing around.”
On a recent morning walk, Romann collected 8 lbs. of trash and 19 nip bottles in her neighborhood. The Elementary STEM Supervisor for Bristol Public Schools said she feels that the litter is a health hazard for the newest member of their family.
“We have a new puppy, and she will pick up whatever is out there,” said Romann. “I just don’t want it to be unhealthy and unsafe for our animals. I’m very eco-friendly; I’ve been a Girl Scout all of my life, so it’s just an extension of all of that and just making the area where we live just a little bit nicer.”
Laura Bailey can be reached at lbailey@bristoledition.org
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