On Earth Day, Thursday, April 22, a clean up of College Hill and the surrounding area will take place starting from the ThreeHouse Collaborative.

The event was organized by David Hindman, a senior UNI student double majoring in digital media production and environmental science, in partnership with the Green Iowa AmeriCorps, the ThreeHouse Collaborative Campus Ministries and the College Hill Partnership, and will allow students and locals to clean up litter from the area next to UNI’s campus.

Between 2 and 4:30 p.m., participants will be given gloves and bags to collect trash that they will later be able to drop off at Seerley Park. In order to take part in the clean up, all students need to do is show up.

“You can come in groups or you can come alone and we will put you into a group,” explained Hindman. “It will be a way to do a communal activity, it will be COVID safe and it will help make the community better. You can come around with your friends and just kind of joke around and make fun of all the vapes that are out there.”

As part of Mayor Rob Green’s and the local government’s pre-existing effort to organize clean ups of the town this year, the city will provide bags and gloves, as well as bring the collected bags of trash to the landfill at the end of the event.

Hindman explained that the Cedar Falls landfill is highly efficient in preventing leaking of waste into the ground, which makes bringing trash to the landfill a sustainable solution. This project is part of his larger effort towards change, which he plans to apply to his career after graduation.

“I care a lot about sustainability, and try to be very knowledgeable and active at a communal, state and federal level,” Hindman said. “I have been merging my majors to understand the communication side of things, and how to convince people of good ideas (about sustainability). My goal is to get into local politics or some sort of global governance so I can help communities be more sustainable.”