Little Wilson Pond property owners band together for Earth Day cleanup

PHOTO: From left, Roger White, Janet White, John Conley, Denise McCourt and Sue Jordan take a short break from picking up trash along Little Wilson Pond – including old tires, old inner tubes, bottles, cans and cigarette packages. This was the pond association’s “First in a Long Time Litter Pickup Day” held May 1. (Submitted photo)

TURNER — Neither cold nor wind kept an intrepid group of volunteers from cleaning up trash around Little Wilson Pond May 1. The volunteer effort was called “The First in a Long Time Litter Cleanup.”

More than 10 volunteers participated in the effort, which netted old tires, inner tubes, lots of plastic bags, and an incredible amount of broken glass, bottles and cans. One savvy volunteer even spotted an intact small green bottle noting, “that’s probably worth something.”
“We had a pick up truck nearby, so we were able to pick up the big stuff – tires and building materials,” said Janet White, president of the Little Wilson Pond Improvement Association. Little Wilson Pond is located in Turner, Auburn and Minot — north of The Basin and Lake Auburn — and is within the Lake Auburn Watershed.
“Little Wilson Pond has had a lot more walkers this year because of the virus, and homeowners have noticed that several of them have been picking up the trash, so that was great,” said White, adding “We came with boots and buckets and grabbers, so we were able to pick up a lot more.”
By the end of the morning, workers hauled away a lot of litter, taken to the Turner Transfer Station. Despite the tough weather conditions, White says this was a great start to the summer on Little Wilson Pond, which has a mix of both year-round residential and seasonal camps and cottages.