How a simple trailer helps neighborhoods look their best
If you spend enough time in the Hamilton area, you’re likely to eventually see a big green trailer with the splashy title “The Cube” on the side.
It’s a resource that Hamilton’s 17Strong organization and the Department of Neighborhoods are excited to have, and which they want Hamilton residents to use.
In 2020, the city received grant money from the non-profit organization Cities of Service to purchase this trailer and fill it up with helpful supplies for volunteers who want to beautify their neighborhoods: there are gloves and trash bags for picking up litter, and there are also rakes, shovels, and other tools for basic yardwork.
“Other cities in the Cities of Service program created a tool trailer for residents to have access to, when they wanted to have community clean-ups or yardwork projects,” explains Brooke Wells, Neighborhoods Coordinator at the City of Hamilton. “We saw that this was a need within Hamilton as well when we spoke with residents; they saw this as something we could really use in our community.”
Residents in all 17 neighborhoods of Hamilton at various times have been interested in organizing cleanup days, either to clear sidewalks or do some basic upkeep on a green space in their neighborhood. One of the challenges is finding enough volunteers to bring all the supplies needed, but the supplies themselves are fairly basic, as it turns out.
The Cube is easily reservable online at the 17Strong website, https://www.17stronghamilton.org/cleanups. Volunteers who want to hold a cleanup day can fill out an easy form to request that the Cube be dropped off at a specific location for their cleaning day. After that, the City employees double check availability and communicate with you if the Cube is already reserved, but otherwise, they get the Cube to the right spot at the right time.
Since receiving the Cube, it’s been reserved more than seven times already, and the warmer season should be an even better time for having neighborhood cleanups.
“We’re hoping this spring, summer, and fall that more people will get to reserve and use the Cube,” says Wells. “It’s also a fun billboard for what 17Strong is all about, since it’s big and gree nand you can’t miss it.”
Wells sees how people who want to make their neighborhoods or green spaces look beautiful can do so with less hassle and logistics now, getting to focus instead on finding great volunteers to help get the work itself done.
“If you’ve never hosted your own cleanup event before but you’d like to, I recommend connecting with 17Strong,” says Wells. “They’ll lead and steer you in the right direction to find other people in your neighborhood and beyond, since they’re well-connected and know people who care about where they live.”
Frank Downie, a community volunteer and 17Strong participant, has participated in a variety of efforts to beautify Hamilton neighborhoods.
“Passers by from delivery until the start of the event can not help but sense that something BIG is about to happen,” says Downie. “In Lindenwald we have had several volunteers engage just because they saw the CUBE.”
While a trailer full of rakes, trash bags, and clippers may seem like a humble addition to the city’s resources, it’s part of a much bigger and more exciting trend.
“The Cube has a bigger message that when people come together to work toward a common goal and solve an issue that matters to them, you can see a big positive impact on your community,” says Wells. “When we work together, doing yard work or picking up trash, we’re building relationships, building pride in our community, and bringing people together.”