Blue & Gold Goes Green returns

More than 60 students from Findlay High School's National Honor Society and other clubs will pick up litter on the school campus and surrounding areas Monday as part of the second annual Blue & Gold Goes Green Earth Day Project. The litter cleanup is a collaboration between United Way of Hancock County, the Blanchard River Watershed Partnership and Findlay City Schools. Students will focus on the woods behind the athletic fields, the athletic fields themselves, parking lots, the lawn surrounding the building, and along Broad Avenue in front of the high school. As part of their membership, National Honor Society students are responsible each semester for at least 15 service hours and must participate in at least one group service project sponsored by Findlay's NHS Blue & Gold Chapter. They often connect with United Way's volunteer center, Volunteers United, to find opportunities in the community. "Last year, the students had such a great energy and it was amazing how much litter they picked up," said Angela DeBoskey, CEO for United Way of Hancock County. "We are thrilled to work with students to help find volunteer opportunities in the community and also to connect for events like this." Like last year, students will use a phone app called Literatti to take pictures of litter gathered and categorize it, allowing organizers to see what is being discarded, how much and where. Between three sites last year, the students logged 5,776 pieces of litter equal to 1.27 tons. "The Blanchard River Watershed Partnership is so excited to be a part of this great collaboration for a second year in a row," said director Lauren Sandhu. "During this event last year, it was really inspiring to see how concerned the students were about environmental issues, and how they wanted to work to fix them. They realized that they are capable of making a difference in their community, and they can tackle big issues like water quality."