Go Green in Full Swing
Article featured in NCCA Community Connection August 2009 – by Jessica Hanna
North Central residents are working hard again this year on the Go Green recycling program. They stay behind at the end of a Saskatchewan Roughrider game to clean up all of the recyclables that the fans leave behind.
For ten days a season, people from all over the province come down to North Central to watch the Roughriders shine. They come down to be entertained and have a good time. The fans park in the neighbourhood and walk through our streets making their way to Mosaic stadium. In that brief period of time they get an impression of North Central, they see our houses and yards, our businesses and parks and our people. At the football games thanks to the Go Green program North Central residents are represented well and identified by the Green T-shirts with a recycling logo on the back.
Richard Meic, a veteran Go Green worker and Team Leader expects this season to be the busiest yet. Meic says “Rider fans are interested in going to the games now.” This is a good thing for North Central and the Go Green program because when the stands are full there are more people buying drinks, that means there are more cans to generate money for the program. All of the workers are paid through the recyclables at the end of the night. That little bit of money that each can makes, adds up to a lot of extra cash for community residents. We typically make around $3000.00 a night from all of those cans. That is a lot of picking and sorting but the workers are happy to do it. The left over money that is not used to pay people their wages goes toward cleaning up the neighbourhood.
Skills are also being taught through the program, whether it is to learn how to show up for work on time and how to work hard, or how to work in teams. Meic started with Go Green because he wanted to learn leadership skills. He enjoys leading people and wants to gain more experience in managing a group of people. This is a great opportunity for him to gain those skills.
The program benefits people in other ways as well. All workers get a free ticket to watch the football game. Often before people started working for Go Green they had never been to game, even though the stadium is right here in our community. The free tickets, which is a bonus that the Riders have given us is a great perk for those workers who are Rider Fans. Plus the money earned is a nice little bit of extra cash in pocket.
The Go Green program is a partnership between the City of Regina, the Saskatchewan Rough Riders and the North Central Community Association with the support of Sarcan and Premiere Van Lines. If you are interested in working a game call the office to find out when an orientation is at 791-9888.
History of the Go Green Program
North Central participated in community meetings regarding the impact of rock concerts held at Mosaic Stadium (located in our community).
Residents complained that there was no spin off for the community. The response was a partnership with the City of Regina, Saskatchewan Roughriders and North Central!
The NCCA needs people who are reliable and mature (at least 12 years old) to clean up all of the recyclable drink containers after each home game. The people who do this get tickets to the game, AND will get paid for their work! It usually takes about 4-5 hours to clean up.
We will also be looking for some ‘fill in’ team leaders. The work is not easy and we need people who are willing to come out and work hard for the entire time. Everyone works until the entire stadium is cleaned – so the harder you work, the less time it takes!
Every penny earned is put back into the North Central community. Over 70% is paid out to the people who clean up. The rest is spent on cleaning up the area around Mosaic Stadium.
Everybody wins!
Just days after their championship victory, Roughriders brought the Grey Cup for a surprise visit to the Go Green appreciation dinner.
Says a Go Green organizer: “We couldn’t have picked a better year to begin this partnership and everyone is looking forward to next season!”
Upcoming HOME games in the 2011 season:
- Saturday, September 24 – 2pm
- Sunday, October 16 – 2pm
- Saturday, October 29 – 1pm
If you are interested:
Call Jessica at NCCA – 791-9888. We will set up a scheduled orientation for you, which is required before you can work.
Graffiti Removal
The money collected from the recyclables that is not put back into the wages of the workers, is put into beautifying North Central. North Central is beautified mainly through Graffiti Removal and prevention.
Artists and community members are recruited to paint murals in the community to showcase local artistic talent, clean up a wall that has unwanted graffiti on it, and prevent future instances of graffiti.
In June 2009, students at Scott Collegiate painted a mural on the side of the 7-Eleven building at 2934 Dewdney Ave. With the help of a professional artist, Aaron Clarke, the students designed and painted the mural. The Art students were very excited about putting their creation into the community for all to see.
You can now view these North Central Murals on our website.
Go Green Evaluation 2011 and Reinvestment Strategy