CINCINNATI — Community service group Alpha Citizen has created a new initiative for Mt. Auburn and community members. Operation Greenfield focuses on cleaning up areas in the region that become hot spots for illegal activity as a result of overgrowth or neglect.
Specifically, the group gathered Sunday to clean up a small section of woods off of Main Street. The section of woods sits next to public basketball courts and a community garden, so members of Alpha Citizen wanted to clean the area up to make it safer for families and kids.
"A lot of people go back there, drug use, other things that I won’t even get into," said Bingham, who started Alpha Citizen two years ago with his wife. "As long as those woods are this dense and secluded, it’s going to continue to happen."
Volunteers said in the first few hours of cleanup, they found around 20 used needles in the woods while picking up trash, cutting down unruly honeysuckle bushes and clearing paths.
"Instead of calling someone to do the right thing, it’s like, ‘Hey, why don’t we do the thing that needs to be done?’” said Bingham.
The group of volunteers plan to return to the woods along Main Street next weekend to continue clearing the area out. The group has a GoFundMe page, for those who cannot get out to help clean but may want to support the organization.
