VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Litter is becoming a growing problem in Syracuse parks
Ryan Bridges: Well we’re all grateful that all of the snow and ice has melted in Syracuse. But with that change comes the reveal of an annual problem in city parks. Our very own Harry Kelly is reporting live from Thornden Park to tell us more.
Harry Kelly: Ryan, thank you. Well it has been a beautiful day to spend some time at the park, but with the growing presence of litter in the area, locals are saying enough is enough.
Kelly: It’s finally springtime in Syracuse. But with all of the snow and ice gone, amidst the beauty, trash lingers in many places.
Rachel Steinhardt: I can see a plastic bag right now. Sometimes you see little liquor bottles or blunt wrappers too, for what it’s worth. And you know, that’s just is what it is.
Kelly: Rachel Steinhardt, like many locals in Syracuse, loves taking long walks in Thornden Park. Just like Lisa Lehmann, who loves walking her dog in parks. But she is upset to have to constantly check to make sure her dog doesn’t eat litter.
Lisa Lehmann: I do think there’s an effect when people see a place that has been degraded. When they see there’s garbage on the ground, they’re less likely to take good care of it.
Kelly: Now Casey Cregg, the superintendent of parks and ground maintenance for the City of Syracuse, says one of the biggest problems is that he only has a couple dozen staffers to cover over 1,300 acres of parkland. And that’s why, he said, residents seem to be much more careful about leaving behind trash in areas like this.
Casey Cregg: I’ll be doing a site visit and someone’s parked and they just throw their garbage out the side of the window. Like it’s…I know I wasn’t brought up that way. And I know many people weren’t. But there’s a lack of accountability sometimes. And while we can’t be everywhere, we try to be.
Kelly: Cregg says residents should reach out to their local park associations to see if they can help, as many of them are constantly doing volunteer trash clean up. That way, when everyone heads out to the great outdoors, they can enjoy the natural beauty without any blemishes.
Kelly: Now Earth Day is coming up in a little more than two weeks. And Cregg says if you want to help the city make the parks cleaner, that’s a great day to grab some friends and trash bags and make a difference. Reporting live from Thornden Park, I’m Harry Kelly, back to you guys.
Bridges: Harry, thank you. And you can learn more about Earth Day events and park clean up resources at syr.gov.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — It’s finally springtime in Syracuse. But with all of the snow and ice gone, amidst the beauty, litter can be found in many city parks.
Rachel Steinhardt, like many locals in Syracuse, loves taking long walks in Thornden Park. But she’s disappointed that it’s a common sight to see trash.
“I can see a plastic bag right now,” Steinhardt said. “Sometimes you see little liquor bottles or blunt wrappers too. Is what it is.”
Lisa Lehmann loves walking her dog in parks all around the city, including Thornden. But she is upset to have to constantly check to make sure her dog doesn’t eat litter.
“I do think there’s an effect when people see a place that has been degraded. When they see there’s garbage on the ground, they’re less likely to take good care of it,” Lehmann said.
Casey Cregg, the superintendent of parks and ground maintenance for the City of Syracuse, says one of the biggest problems is that he only has a couple dozen staffers to cover over 1,300 acres of parkland. And that’s why he emphasized that residents need to be much more careful about leaving behind trash.
“I’ll be doing a site visit, and someone’s parked and they just throw their garbage out the side of the window,” Cregg said. “I know I wasn’t brought up that way, and I know many people weren’t, but there’s a lack of accountability sometimes. And while we can’t be everywhere, we try to be.”
Cregg says residents should reach out to their local park associations to see if they can help, as many of them are constantly doing volunteer trash clean up. And with Earth Day coming up in a little more than two weeks, Cregg says that’s a great day to grab some friends and trash bags and make a difference in the parks.
Locals can learn more about Earth Day events in the city and park clean up resources at syr.gov.