Fifty University-area students and community members tackle Reid Park cleanup

Posted on 27 Feb 2012 by Lauren Senkow

Fifty UNCC students and community members worked together Saturday to finalize the clean up at Reid Park, the latest project by as part of efforts to clean up by the Charlotte Action Research Project.

On Jan. 28, students from Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity, Kappa Delta sorority and the University Chapter of Habitat for Humanity, partnered with the CHARP and the Reid Park Neighborhood Association. Large amounts of trash, including tires, construction equipment, and electronics were being dumped because this community had so much vacant land. CHARP identified this issue being “problematic for several reasons: it contributes to neighborhood blight, and is also environmentally unsound. Furthermore it is disgusting and disrespectful the residents of Reid Park.”

“Not just a one-day project, we hit hard for four hours roughly, and will continue back this Saturday to hopefully finish,” said Liz Shockey, the CHARP student coordinator.

CHARP (Charlotte Action Research Project) is a program funded by the community at UNC Charlotte pairing graduate students as “community liaisons” with local neighborhoods to develop community projects that help residents take ownership of their individual neighborhoods. The idea was created by Dr. Janni Sorenson of UNC Charlotte’s Department of Geography and Earth Sciences and turned into an established community-university partnership in 2008.

The Reid Park Neighborhood Association and CHARP are working together to raise awareness about this issue in the hopes of preventing this behavior in the future. As for the neighborhood surrounding Reid Park, they are excited to see the area look ‘new’ again. The two days of cleaning had not only eliminated the trash but gave hopes to residents of the area for a cleaner environment.

Another project CHARP is participating in, they are partnering with Elevation Church to tackle another illegal dumping site. As for Reid Park, the community is in the running for a KaBOOM! Playground grant.