Ashley Kontnier
DRIPPING SPRINGS— After an accident with an impaired driver in 1999 left her in a wheelchair, Harriet Greenlee vowed to make a difference in her community and gather others to do the same, if she could walk again. Today, she doesn’t drive by roadside trash without stopping to pick it up and runs an organization of volunteers that cleans up trash all around Dripping Springs.
“I officially [started] Dripping Springs Clean in about 2012, I would say, and just started pulling over and picking up trash and trying to empower others to do the same,” Greenlee explained.
At first, she wanted to empower others to do what she was doing, but what she found was that there were others in the area who agreed and felt the same and were already cleaning up on their own.
“So, we formed this incredible team,” Greenlee said. “And you know why we do it? We love this town. We love it and we want to see a future of some kind of preservation of the town's core values.”
While she resides in and focuses the organization’s efforts on Dripping Springs, the founder doesn’t let that stop her from picking up trash wherever she is.
“So, while this is a local initiative, I try to empower people wherever they go in the world to make it better when they leave. Always leave no trace, but always leave it better,” she said.
To make a greater impact, Greenlee plans events one to two times a month to gather eight to 10 volunteers together in each specific cleaning area. When new members join, she makes it a point to ask what areas they want to see cleaned up and then, plan a visit in the future to do so. During these hotter summer months, the group will start early in the morning in a concentrated area and clean for approximately two hours.
Cleaning is not her only mission, though. She will often talk to local businesses or residents in the area to encourage them to clean up the area on a more frequent basis than the group is able.
One tactic she likes to suggest is 50/50 Friday.
“Go outside of your gate or your driveway or across the street — same thing — and just pick up, so that when you come home from wherever or go to work, you have a clean mind,” she explained.
In addition to roadside cleanups, she will host park cleanups when kids want to be involved, since that is a safer alternative.
While she has considered adopting a roadway through the Texas Department of Transportation’s Adopt-a-Highway Program, she chose not to, so that she wouldn’t be limited to cleaning up only a specific stretch of road.
Greenlee also recognizes the positive impacts she has personally experienced as a result of the work she does.
“When you do good things every day, good things happen to you because it's automatic. When you're a good person and you do right by the environment and Mother Nature, things just fall into place in your life,” she said.
As for the future, the founder hopes to keep the current momentum going. One goal is to become an official nonprofit organization and obtain some new sources of funding, as she is currently self-funding all of the efforts. She also wants to work with local sports fields and teams to help them make a plan to keep their facilities free of trash.
The most important thing to note, according to Greenlee, is that “This organization is not political. We absolutely agree that there are no red or blue sides to loving our Earth and teaching compassion. And keeping it beautiful and pristine for the future inhabitants.”
Dripping Springs Clean’s next event will be held from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, in downtown Dripping Springs. Those interested in joining can RSVP by responding to the event on Facebook and meeting in front of Hudson’s on Mercer at the designated time.
To keep up with future events, follow @DRIPPINGSPRINGSCLEAN on Facebook and Instagram.
For more information, visit www.drippingspringsclean.com.
