The Silvermine Community Corps, (SCC) were at it again this past Sunday April 26, 2009. Over 25 volunteers patrolled the streets throughout Silvermine armed with latex gloves and 3 mils thick plastic bags, picking up trash and any other object that was foreign to the Silvermine natural landscape. Working from 1:00 to 4:00 over 20 bags of trash were brought back to the Silvermine School where the City will cart them away. In addition to the usual tally of soft drink and alcoholic beverage containers, several tires were pulled from the woodline just north of the Merritt Parkway overpass on Comstock Hill Road. The haul of the day went again to our neighbors on Perry Avenue who managed to pull old mattresses, metal containers and discarded bags trash from the woods along Perry Avenue at the Merritt Parkway underpass. While most or our Neighborhood corps pulled trash off our community streets we had several members who spent their afternoon removing the invasive Ailanthus saplings, multiflora rose and honeysuckle vines from the slope along the Silvermine School Drive.

In honor Earth Day, The Silvermine Community Association, handed out small Sugar Maple trees Acer saccharum, to all participants. The small trees were provided in wrapped plastic to keep their roots moist, along with information on the growth habit of the trees and instruction for planting from Mussel Nurseries where the trees were obtained. Sugar Maples are naturally occurring tree species and are found throughout Silvermine, providing shade during the hot summer months, habitat for birds, amazing fall color and maple syrup for the homesteaders who can weather the process.

The Silvermine Community Association would like to thank all of our neighbors for their efforts and commitment of time in helping to keep our community clean. For our neighborhood friends who could not make it to help us today. We ask that you spend a few minutes and pick up trash that may have accumulated along the front of your and your neighbor’s property. We are finding that our efforts twice each year help in the overall reduction in the amount of trash that accumulates along the street. It is a phenomenon that is casually discussed as the "broken window theory". Effectively the less trash we have the less trash that accumulates. Along this same thought, it is becoming important to address the graffiti at the underpasses on Perry and Silvermine Avenues. Please support us in our ongoing effort to combat this social degradation of our community landscape.