Ninety volunteers participated in the Portage Township Team Up 2 Clean Up event on Saturday, April 18th. “We had returning groups, new groups, and community residents participate in this year’s event” stated Joy Lundstrom, Superintendent of Portage Township Parks, “its heart-warming to see the commitment and pride all these groups have for their neighborhood parks and community”.
Returning volunteer groups included Girl Scout Jr Troop #30003, Cub Scout Pack #487, Boy Scout Troop # 456, Friends of Portage Township Foundation Inc., Torch Club & Keystone Club kids from South Haven Boys & Girls Club, Starbucks, and employees from Bounce N Around. New volunteer groups represented were Aqua Indiana, Portage Township YMCA, LifePoint Baptist Church, The Dominguez Family, and South Haven Elementary School.
Project sites expanded again this year and included; Haven Hollow Park, Field of Dreams Park, South Haven Fire Department, South Haven Little League, and McCool Road Clean-up.
Among the projects completed were;
- planting 100 tree seedlings that were donated to the Township Park Department by Representative Chuck Mosely as part of Indiana’s Tree Seedling Program
- mulching the tree nursery, new trail, and existing shrubbery & trees
- Planting flowers & cleaning flower beds
- Staining Picnic Tables
- Dragging the parking lot, picking up litter and painting dugouts at South Haven Little League
- Cleaning and liter pick-up at South Haven Fire Department
- Landscaping enhancements at South Haven Elementary School
- Trash collecting along a 1 ½ mile stretch of McCool Road from 600N to Brook St. as part of the Recycle & Waste Reduction District of Porter County’s ‘Adopt-A-County-Road’ Program. 12 bags of trash and 8 bags of recyclable materials were collected.
“This is an amazing example displaying how the good works of a few groups can have such a positive impact in our Township Parks and our community”, stated Brendan Clancy, Portage Township Trustee, "we are very grateful for everyone’s participation and support”.
To learn more about these projects, the Portage Township Department of Parks and Recreation or how you can be involved, contact Portage Township Parks Department at 219.762.1623 x31.