Editor, The Beacon:
Recently, I had the great honor to get rid of some litter. And there’s plenty of litter to get rid of around Volusia County.
In a brave, forward-thinking move, the City of Holly Hill partnered with Dream Green Volusia and agreed to installation of a simple, ingenious device called a Watergoat. Dream Green is a grassroots Florida nonprofit group that works on environmental issues throughout the county. A Watergoat collects water-borne trash for easy harvesting.
I was part of a volunteer group responsible for harvesting litter trapped by Holly Hill’s Watergoat on the canal that runs along LPGA. That canal is part of a waterway system under the tutelage of Volusia County.
Permitting the Watergoat was a no-brainer, since it was paid for by a grant (i.e., “free” to the city/county). And there are more grants available for similar installations. This particular installation was part of a countywide anti-litter campaign spearheaded by Dream Green Volusia. Similar installations are also in place in Edgewater and New Smyrna Beach.
Dream Green is promoting numerous anti-littering projects, including an “adopt a drain” program, an “only rain down the drains” campaign, and some beautifully executed mural-type paintings on trash cans around the county.
Public awareness and participation are essential to make this anti-litter campaign a success. And if all of Volusia’s municipal governments participate too, we’ll be not just dreaming about but actually keeping Volusia green. I feel honored to be getting rid of Volusia’s litter.
Donna Craig
Ormond Beach
