A city-wide initiative to clean up the “heart of the community” is hopeful to bring positive response across New Boston.
The New Boston Chamber of Commerce and the New Boston Special Industrial Development Corporation/ Community Development Corporation (SIDC/CDC) are joining forces to promote the Earth Day Initiative 2025.
“We felt like it would be a great time to collaborate between us and the city to bring some unity with the community and some positive momentum towards changing some of the mindset on the upkeep of our community and taking pride in New Boston,” said Kayla Simmons, Chamber president. “(Downtown) is the heart of our community and we want to build from that heart out, spreading that throughout the community because we want to see all of New Boston thriving.”
Lee Elliott, SIDC/CDC president, agreed.
“It’s been fun and exciting … You’re going to see the whole community come together, whether it be banks, organizations, or just citizens wanting to volunteer, cleaning up the downtown,” Elliott said.
The cleanup day will be on Earth Day, April 22, beginning at 10 a.m. at Trail Head Park.
Simmons said they will focus on three zones of the city, with emphasis on Downtown.
“We have it mapped out in sections for trash pickup, for limb pickup, for some touch up on painting. The City’s going to have a crew out there as well to update some of the railing and things like that. And then we’ll also be putting out … floral and plant color coming out to the downtown,” she said.
“We’ll also have a group in the park as well so it will run that sidewalk from downtown to the park with different crews and also on the walking trail … and along Highway 8 as well because a lot of people see that.”
Several groups and organizations have already donated their time to the cleanup, but Simmons and Elliott said they will be meeting with the school, businesses and other organizations to spread the word and solicit additional help.
They have also been in talks with Bruce Pardue of The Little Country Greenhouse to provide guidance with what to plant and how to provide the most color year round as cost-effectively as possible.
“You remember the downtowns that have color, where people are friendly, where you can walk around. We have a lot of the friendliness and, after Earth Day, it’s going to be a lot more bright,” Elliott said.
The CDC along with donations will be covering the costs of the flowers as well as paint and other materials needed in the cleanup.
The initiative is the start of an ongoing process to beautify New Boston, Simmons said.
“We’re trying to be very strategic with it and make sure we can build upon this,” she said.
The Earth Day initiative coincides with a fundraiser the Chamber started and a grant application the City will be completing to update the lighting and sidewalks in Downtown.
“We started a project at the Chamber banquet in February raising funds to help maintain for those businesses downtown with their lights, to make sure that those bulbs are being replaced regularly and that they’re hanging properly because it’s the small touches that make a big difference on how it looks and if it looks appealing when people are coming up,” Simmons said.
To volunteer for the Earth Day cleanup, contact Simmons via email at president@ newbostontx.org.
