Greenwich Teen Hopes To Share Passion For Cleaning Up The Environment

GREENWICH, CT — Greenwich High School 11th-grader Thomas McKinney has always cared for the environment, and now he wants the community to join in on his passion.

McKinney, an ambassador for a litter-free ocean, has helped organize and host four community cleanups over the last few years.

The most recent event, which was organized in conjunction with Greenwich Green & Clean, saw volunteers pick up 44 pounds of trash at Binney Park late last month.

Another community cleanup event has been scheduled for Nov. 18, this time at Cos Cob Park, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Volunteers are encouraged to show up with gloves and long pants.

McKinney's passion for cleaning up trash and helping to beautify the environment was sparked when his mother introduced him to "Plogging," which involves the act of picking up trash while jogging.

The word is a combination of the Swedish words plocka upp (pick up) and jogga (jog).

"[My mom] brought me to one of these community cleanup events at Lyon Park in Port Chester. That was really the start of my care for the environment," McKinney said. "I always cared for the environment, but I realized in this way I could help protect the environment by picking up trash."

In eighth grade, McKinney connected his capstone project at Central Middle School to picking up litter in the streets, which he did during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Passersby would honk at McKinney in appreciation, and one person even stopped to tell him, 'Thank you.'

First Selectman Fred Camillo, a noted advocate for the environment, has attended each of McKinney's cleanup events.

"As someone who has been involved with the recycling industry and volunteerism for decades, I couldn’t be more proud of Tom’s engagement in town the past several years. His cleanups are well attended and symbolic of both his passion for the environment, as well as a reflection of Greenwich‘s commitment to that same environment," Camillo said. "Tom has a bright future, and I know he will build upon his success in organizing cleanup events in his hometown wherever he goes."

About 50 volunteers attended the cleanup at Binney Park in October, but McKinney believes in strength in numbers.

"I really feel that I can make a difference, but at the same time, by doing this I'm hoping other people can make a difference and more people working on this together is obviously going to make a much bigger impact than if I do this alone," McKinney said.

Residents can use common sense measures to reduce littering in the first place.

"Cleaning up the environment is a big thing. We always talk about climate change and all these things as such big, broad topics that are so hard to really think about that we all try to distance ourselves from them. But really, I think we can protect the animals in Long Island Sound, and it's really just as simple as being a little bit more conscious, picking up trash when you see it, not littering in the first place whenever possible," McKinney added.

"These are things that we can do, and they're not difficult. If we can all do these things then it will really benefit everyone."

McKinney is in the preliminary stages of organizing another cleanup in Cos Cob Park in December. He plans on holding more events going into 2024, but nothing is finalized yet.