Great American Cleanup
Extreme Martin Makeover

Each year, more than 1,500 volunteers from every corner of Martin County joined together as a part of the annual Great American Cleanup (GAC). Conducted nationally by Keep America Beautiful and its affiliates from March through May, and coordinated locally by Keep Martin Beautiful (KMB), the Great American Cleanup is the nation’s largest, annual community improvement program.

Last year, KMB set records in not only number of participating volunteers and volunteer hours, but in pounds of litter and trash collected. A total of 1,323 volunteers spent 4,883 hours in local parks, neighborhoods, beaches, and roadways collecting litter and marine debris, planting flowers and trees and removing exotic vegetation.

 
 
 
 


In addition to the typical litter removal efforts, a series of community revitalization projects are also organized throughout the community as a part of KMB’s Extreme Martin Makeover.


Last year, the kick-off of the Extreme Martin Makeover began in East Stuart as KMB volunteers, along with Habitat Angel, Hooks Construction, East Stuart Main Street and the City of Stuart, came together to makeover homes in the neighborhood.

Hooks Construction donated time and manpower to prepare the homes that were in need of structural repairs prior to the cleanup and volunteers came out to pick up litter, plant trees around the homes and paint exterior walls.

Volunteers also participated in large numbers to support the communities of Booker Park and Westbrook in Indiantown at a recent GAC event coordinated by KMB. The Booker Park neighborhood cleanup was one of the largest GAC events in Martin County this year.  Residents and volunteers removed almost 15 tons, or 30,000 pounds, of litter and debris from roadways, vacant lots and canals. In addition, the Martin County HazMobile collected nearly 50 gallons of paint, 62 pounds of batteries and 15 pounds of miscellaneous hazardous chemicals.

Dave Holzinger and Steve Hooks of Hooks Construction

In addition to these two community projects, other revitalization projects included exotic vegetation removal, landscaping, and litter removal at the Rio/Jensen Beach Skate Park; landscaping and litter removal in Banner Lake in Hobe Sound; litter and hazardous waste removal in the Golden Gate area in Stuart; and litter removals on Jensen Beach, in Halpatiokee Park and in downtown Port Salerno.

 

 

Hundreds of volunteers participated in the East Stuart cleanup event on Saturday, March 13, 2010

Members of Boy Scout Troop #825 came out to participate in the Neighborhood Cleanup of Golden Gate 

This year, there are many opportunities to be a part of making an EXTREME difference in Martin County. Scheduled Cleanups as of March 1

 

March

March 12 - Palm City Elementary Wildcat Cleanup

March 19 - Stuart Beach Cleanup at Single Fin Showdown

March 19 - Oyster Shell Bagging at Britt Point, North Side of the Old Roosevelt Bridge

April

April 9 - East Stuart Extreme Martin Makeover

April 9 - Rio Skate Park Invasive Exotic Plant Removal


April 16 - 8 AM: Hobe Sound Beach Cleanup. Litter removal hosted by Hobe Sound Elementary.

 

April 16 - 9 AM: Oyster Shell Bagging - Located at Britt Point, north of the old Roosevelt Bridge. Part of ongoing Oyster Reef Restoration Project. Click here to register by email.


April 22 – 8 AM: Palm City Park Cleanup – Litter removal cleanup hosted by Girl Scout Troop 30494.

 

April 30 - 9 AM: Spoil Island Restoration – Beautification, landscaping and replanting the island with native vegetation. Hosted by Treasured Lands Foundation. Click here to register by email.

April 30 - 9 AM: Oyster Shell Bagging - Located at Britt Point, north of the old Roosevelt Bridge. Part of ongoing Oyster Reef Restoration Project. Click here to register by email.


May

May 7 - 8 AM: Extreme Martin Makeover Day - Jensen Sea Turtle Beach, Stuart Beach, Sandsprit Park. Community-wide cleanup hosted by KMB. Click here to register by email.


May 7 - 8 AM: Golden Gate Cleanup & Flea Market. Neighborhood wide litter removal and hazardous waste collection. Click here to register by email.

 

May 7 - 8 AM: Mary Brogan Park Cleanup - Litter removal hosted by Garden Club of Stuart.

 

May 7 - 8 AM: House of Refuge Cleanup - Litter removal and beach cleanup hosted by the Rotary Club of Stuart.

 

May 14 - 8 AM: Banner Lake Community Cleanup - Litter removal and hazardous waste collection. Check in at Banner Lake Park. Click here to register by email.

 

May 14 - 9 AM: Oyster Bag Deployment - Boardwalk behind City of Stuart City Hall and Flagler Park. Part of ongoing Oyster Reef Restoration Project.


May 21 - 8 AM: Indiantown Extreme Martin Makeover - Litter removal and hazardous waste collection. Check in at Banner Lake Park. Click here to register by email. 

 

Keep Martin Beautiful would like to thank all of the sponsors of the Great American Cleanup and the Extreme Martin Makeover, including AT&T, Continental Shelf Associates, Fiorella Insurance, Lively Orthodontics, Waste Management, Florida Oceanographic Society, Florida Power & Light, Forest Hills Funeral Home, Sailor’s Return, Wallace Nissan, South Florida Water Management District, Martin County Solid Waste Authority, Ampersand Graphics, Hooks Construction, Steven Martin Photography, The Firefly Group, Lauri J. Goldstein and Rocky’s Ace Hardware.

Another thank you goes to the community partners of Keep Martin Beautiful who helped make the 2010 Great American Cleanup a success. Those partners include: the City of Stuart CRA, East Stuart Main Street, Habitat Angel, Habitat for Humanity, South Florida Water Management District, and The Firefly Group.

 

Sponsorship Opportunities are available. For more information, please click here for a Double Decker Sponsor Packet.

 

For photos of the 2010 GAC events, click here.

For more information, or to participate in the cleanup, contact Keep Martin Beautiful at (772) 781-1222 or info@keepmartinbeautiful.org.


Symbol of the Great American Cleanup:
Iron Eyes Cody

Iron Eyes Cody is most famous for his "Crying Indian" role in the Keep America Beautiful public service announcement in the early 1970's, an ecology commercial in which he sheds a tear after trash is thrown from a speeding car and lands at his feet.
On his passing in 1999, Iron Eyes Cody was interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California. He is survived by his adopted son, the Native American flautist Robert "Tree" Cody.

“Nearly all my life, it has been my policy to help those less fortunate than themselves. My foremost endeavors have been with the help of the Great Spirit to dignify my people’s image through humility and love of my country. It is my sincerest wish to reach the hearts of the people of the world by my Keep America Beautiful film of ‘The Crying Indian’ so they will be more aware of the dangers of pollution facing the world today. If I have done that, I have done all I need to do!”

Iron Eyes Cody


Reference Source, Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crying_Indian

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