The Community Paper

Students contribute to preserving the environment in the city



Students said what they found the most of during the cleanup was plastic, mostly bottle caps and also a large number of cigarette filter parts. AIDARI RIERA

Students said what they found the most of during the cleanup was plastic, mostly bottle caps and also a large number of cigarette filter parts. AIDARI RIERA

UCF and Valencia College students gathered at John H. Jackson Community Center in March for a cleanup around the area. For the first time, members of Downtown Student Life partnered with Keep Orlando Beautiful, a nonprofit organization administered by the City of Orlando.

Sean Hipps, Keep Orlando Beautiful coordinator, said that volunteers often help with litter prevention, graffiti removal, putting out recycling bins and planting trees around the city.

Hipps said that in KOB they strongly believe in the youth being the driving force of environmental protection and sustainability.

“That’s not to say we don’t love [working] with our older generations because they have a lot of experience,” Hipps said. “But when it comes to true change happening, we think it does drive from the younger generations, even younger than our college students here today.”

J’lin Rose, 26, graduate student at UCF, led the group and said that despite having a handful of volunteers, they still made a change in the community and plan on doing more cleanups in the near future.

The Keep Orlando Beautiful organization offers younger generations an opportunity to partner with them, including individuals ranging from college students to Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. AIDARI RIERA

The Keep Orlando Beautiful organization offers younger generations an opportunity to partner with them, including individuals ranging from college students to Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. AIDARI RIERA

Rose said the Downtown Student Life students reached out to KOB and asked them about getting involved. KOB suggested some loca tions and chose the John H. Jackson Community Center to start off with.

“We try to create connections but at the same time extend the scope and find as many partners in the downtown community we serve so that students can be aware of what is going on, so we can stretch our impact,” Rose said.

Downtown Student Li fe will partner again with KOB in May for a massive cleanup event where students will have three different stations around Downtown Orlando. If interested in volunteering, reach out to @dwntwnstudentlife on Instagram.

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