The volunteer effort is expected to continue monthly at different locations around Salem.
Salem Mayor-elect Vanessa Nordyke spent Friday morning picking up litter alongside volunteers at Cascades Gateway Park as part of her fifth community cleanup project.
The Aug. 14 effort brought volunteers together at the southeast Salem park, where participants in safety vests spread out with garbage bags and cleanup equipment. Nordyke also thanked Salem Region Indivisible for joining the effort.
Nordyke credited Daphne Weirich with working closely with City of Salem staff to help make the cleanups happen.
What started as a series of individual cleanup projects is now expected to become a regular effort. Nordyke said the cleanups are planned to continue monthly, moving to different locations around Salem.
For Nordyke, who currently represents Ward 7 on the Salem City Council and will become mayor after winning the May election, the cleanup offered a hands-on way to participate in an issue residents see across the city.
Cascades Gateway Park has already attracted other volunteer cleanup efforts this summer. On July 17, Oregon nonprofit SOLVE held a separate “Pick It Up, Salem!” event at the park, with volunteers collecting litter around the park and Walter Wirth Lake.
The events were separate, but both brought residents into one of Salem’s major public spaces to help with litter removal alongside regular city maintenance.
Friday’s cleanup marked Nordyke’s fifth such project. She said future volunteer opportunities will be announced through her public page as the monthly effort continues.
The location and date of the next cleanup have not yet been announced.
