Chinatown Project: Clean and Green
Planting in Chinatown is a great way to encourage clean and green streets in Chinatown. Last week, we planted four evergreen plants on Race Street in Chinatown. Our goal was to use the plants to encourage people to not throw trash in the pots. Prior to our project, the plant pots had become trash cans where people carelessly threw their trash.
On Sunday April 2nd, after buying the materials, we went to plant the plants that we just bought. One major challenge that we faced when we were planting was to get rid of the trash and dirty rain water in the pots. After a long time, we were finally able to clear out the pots and plant the plants. While we were planting, a lot of people stopped and watched us as well as complimented us for improving the environment in Chinatown.
We found cigarette butts and receipts inside some of the pots just a few days later. It seems like people did not really care and just wanted to get rid of their trash in the most convenient way possible. However, while we were planting, many people stopped and observed what we were doing. From that, we feel that some people do care and want to know what is going on around Chinatown. We hope that in the future, people can take an active part in understanding what it takes to make Chinatown cleaner and more welcoming. In order to do that, we have to improve our communication. We need everyone’s support like those who encouraged us when we were planting. This is just the beginning; we need everyone to pitch in their effort to reach our goal of a cleaner and healthier Chinatown.
Update (4/15/17): As of Sunday, April 16th, two of the evergreens were removed and stolen from their pots in front of Dynasty Court.
~Siqi Zheng & Joey Zhao, PCDC Volunteers