GreenUP 2026
Our fifth annual FBC GreenUp Day (Saturday, May 2, 2026) is coming up soon.
But this year is a bit different… This year is a reckoning, and it signals some important shifts.
The amount of trash left behind at abandoned encampments this year was HUGE. We had to admit that we needed help so we enlisted the bucket loaders and dump trucks of Burlington’s Department of Public Works. DPW crews came in last Friday, piling up the trash into big piles and scarring up the trails with deep tracks. They couldn’t load it up because the ground was so wet. More work for us to do together!
Also, we are working slowly (= at the speed of bureaucracy) but surely with the city’s Planning Department to set up a “Barge Canal Focus Group” that will aim to conserve and restore the site as a green space, so that it can become the true living heart of the southend. Our first meeting is scheduled for Friday, May 1. We will give a report on GreenUp Day.
Q: Will there be any trash left to pick up on May 2?
A: Inevitably, yes, though maybe less than some previous years. We will have trash bags, gloves, some tools, a few wheelbarrows, and a box for safe disposal of any needles we find.
Q: Why don’t we just leave the trash in the woods?
A: We remove it to take care of the land, for the health of plant communities and the soil, for the safety of anyone walking through, and so that hazardous materials don’t leach into the Barge Canal land and water and ultimately into Lake Champlain.
Q: What else will we do on GreenUp Day? Should I come?
A: As we clean up, we take care of this land. It is good work, best done together. We will walk all through the Barge Canal and talk about its future. This is a transitional time, important for the Barge Canal and the South End due to massive development plans already in motion and possible shifts in zoning. Besides cleaning up, this will be a chance to get updated, get organized, get reacquainted and ask more questions.
Q: What about our unhoused neighbors? Where do they go? Will they just come back? Why do people try to live out in the woods?
A: These are critical, urgent questions. As a society and a city, we need to come up with answers. Let’s talk about them on GreenUp Day.
Please join us at the Barge Canal on the morning of GreenUp Day, Saturday, May 2.
Wear sturdy boots and clothes appropriate for the weather.
Long sleeves and long pants are obligatory.
Rain or shine
Kids are welcome.
We will gather at 9 AM and will finish by noon.
We’ll have bagels & cream cheese.
If you look very closely (maybe even enlarge the picture), you will catch a glimpse of one of the FBC’s visions for the Barge Canal. (Alas, it’s still a dream!)
