AMAZING neighbor champions Wildewood Springs and Springlakes

Her name is Maureen. 

And her friend is Louis. They are both passionate about caring for Wildewood Springs' Audubon-certified wildlife habitat. 

I had been looking forward to running into Maureen for weeks. On walks, various neighbors asked, "Do you know the woman who picks up trash?" I didn't and wanted to meet her. 

Last weekend was my chance. 

WOW. She is something special.

Maureen told me she's picked up trash every day in Wildewood Springs and Springlakes for the last year. She carries and fills bags as she walks and disposes of the litter in the dumpster (she lives in Lakeside Village). But, her walks grew longer and the bags heavier with litter. So she bought that nifty, collapsible wagon.

If you recently noticed that Wildewood Springs adjacent to 34th and 43rd Streets looks clean, it's because this was Maureen and Louis' route that day. That's right: 8.15 miles. 

Maureen picks up an average of 3 full bags a day. However, on this 8-mile walk with Louis, they filled "5 bags plus a few miscellaneous items like a tire and pump. We had to empty the wagon at a dumpster behind the Wildewood Springs office before continuing!"

Maureen began her year by taking a fast-walking class to help with the correct walking posture. I commented on her fitness (this might motivate some of us to join her) and guess what? She's lost 40 pounds picking up litter. 

As we waved goodbye, I was reminded of the least I could do to join her effort, "Hey, if all of us just pick up 3 pieces of litter a day, it would be a healthier Earth." I told her I would tell our Wildewood friends. 

I'm grateful to thank her by name when I see her walking.

Wildewood Second Saturday Clean Up, 9 - 10 AM

Left to right: Walter Goodrich, Lois Goodrich, Diane Kirkham, Bob Coomer.

Wildewood IIA has established a monthly, one-hour litter clean up on the Second Saturday of each month from 9 - 10 AM. We begin and stop on time. And, it's fun meeting and working with neighbors.

We pick up litter at the 34th Street entrance and along the road and just inside the fence walking towards both Cortez and 53rd Street. 

Some clean-ups will include invasive plant removal—Brazilian pepper trees and carrotwood seedlings. 

Totals for February 11, 2017

Number of volunteers: 7

Bags of litter collected: 12

Time - 1 hour x 7 = 7 hours

Litter: plastic and glass water and beverage containers, fast food items, plastic bucket, plastic hoses, a wallet with cards identifying the person from 1992, a turtle carapace, plastic bags.

Grand total to date: 9 volunteers, 17 bags of litter, 9 hours of service

December, 2016 - 2 volunteers, 5 bags, 2 hours
February 11, 2017 - 7 volunteers, 12 bags, 7 hours 

Lois says hello, then talk about what we appreciate in Wildewood

Photo - bottlebrush tree near our place.

"The simplest way to begin finding each other again is to start talking about what we care about." - Margaret Wheatley, Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future.

Last week I was outside watering the garden when neighbor Lois peeks through the bottlebrush tree and says hello. We start talking about flowers and trees native to Central Florida. That leads to a mutual appreciation conversation about the Wildewood habitat and things we noticed this week, such as a large number of monarchs migrating through our neighborhood. 

Photo credit - Monarchs hibernate in oyamel fir trees in Mexico.

And a female yellow-bellied sapsucker on a palm tree.

Photo, Susan Michael Barrett. Pineneedle Drive, near the bed of blanket flowers.

Female, yellow-bellied sapsucker. 

Photo credit, Arthur Morris/VIREO. On the Audubon website.

So, on an early morning walk today, the day before Thanksgiving, I pass Lois and her husband, Walter. She notices that I'm carrying a couple of plastic soda bottles. "Oh, you're picking up litter! Did you see the pieces of trash at the entrance of Wildewood and on 34th Street?" Lois asks. Within a few minutes, we decide to meet and do a little clean up.

In one hour, we collect three bags of trash. 

 Lois with a found stick to pull trash under the fence.

The majority of the garbage is fast food and drink containers. Oh, and a pair of tennis shoes!

Three bags of trash. We empty one bag before we take this photo.

There's more to clean up, so we agree to meet again for an hour next month and invite anyone else who wants to join us. Lois suggests we post a note on the bulletin board. Look for it.

11.23.16