The City of Staunton launches its new Adopt-a-Spot program, a streamlined and revitalized version of the city’s former Adopt-a-Street and Adopt-a-Stream initiatives.
The community-driven effort invites individuals, businesses and local organizations to take part in keeping Staunton beautiful by adopting and committing to regularly cleaning up public areas throughout the city.
Participants can adopt a wider variety of locations, including streets, stream sections, neighborhoods, walkways, parking lots or other public spaces, all through a single, simple application process. In exchange for their efforts, groups will receive recognition with custom signs placed at both ends of their adopted location, courtesy of the city.
“This program simplifies our approach to litter cleanup and beautification by combining multiple underused programs into one unified effort,” said Environmental Programs Administrator Willow Hughes. “We hope to build greater community pride and get more residents involved in caring for the spaces we all share.”
Adopt-a-Spot participants commit to at least four cleanups per year in a two-year period and receive free supplies from the city, including safety vests and trash bags. Safety guidelines, supervision requirements and reporting forms are part of the standard process to ensure participants stay safe and have support. Participants are encouraged to coordinate cleanups with citywide and statewide litter initiatives like Earth Day and Clean the Bay Day.
Adopt-a-Spot also contributes to Staunton’s environmental goals and can be used in reporting efforts under the city’s Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit, which supports clean water initiatives across Virginia.
Applications and full program details are available online.
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Rebecca Barnabi
