Prospect residents spruce up neighbourhoods

(CNS Local Life): Members of the Prospect Community Group cleaned up their district Saturday, 25 November, joined by MLA Austin Harris and RCIPS Community Officer PC Christopher Donaldson. Divided into teams, the Prospect crew did their best to rid Marina Drive, Omega Drive, Mahogany Drive and Victory Avenue of discarded plastic, old food containers, bottles, beer cans and the like, that had been strewn along the roadside or in the surrounding ditches and bushes.

By the end of the effort, 24 bags of garbage were collected and personally taken to the dump by Harris, stated a press release. “Littering is not only thoughtless and unsightly it can also create a hazard,” said Harris. “For example, flooding is a particular concern in parts of Prospect and as a result of this clean-up effort, we have been able to clear a storm drain in Victory Avenue that was previously blocked with overgrown vegetation.

“As soon as the litter and vegetation was cleared you could hear the water gushing through the drain where it is supposed to go. This will hopefully lead to residents experiencing less flooding in the immediate area.”

Prospect executive committee chair Sabrina Turner helped organise the clean-up. “Prospect is a great community to live in and it is up to us, the residents in the area, to do what we can to improve our environs,” she said.

“We have a very active WhatsApp group with close to 200 members so while the turnout for this week’s effort could have been a lot better, we are hoping that many more residents will join us for the next one,” Turner added, noting the group has arranged for another clean-up this Sunday, 3 December, starting at 6am at the Seafarers Hall.

Turner explained that the Prospect group tries to be as inclusive as possible and organised the Sunday clean-up for residents in the area who could not take part on Saturday for religious reasons.

In thanking all the volunteers who came out to assist, she made special mention of husband-and-wife team Carol and Rolphie Braggs, who not only assisted with the clean-up, but also provided sandwiches and refreshments for the volunteers.

“That’s the kind of spirit we have in our community,” she said. “We are also very grateful for the support received from the NRA (National Roads Authority), which provided us with gloves and garbage bags that have been a great help in our effort to get Prospect spruced up for Christmas.”

 

Tags: Neighbourhood clean-up, Prospect Community Group

Category: Community, Environment