Green Saves Green Member Meeting Minutes

Monday, May 11, 2026

5:30 p.m., Pasquotank County Library

Present: Martha Ann, Hayley Barkova, Karl Brandspiegel, Nita Coleman, Sam Dahl, Lisa Dane, Jane Elfring, Julie Foster, Donna Gilbird, Marlene Greer, Blair Jackson, George Jackson, Linda Jones, Charles Jordan, MaryAnn Jordan, Bill Kruse, Sue Kruse, John Shakin, Abigail Villalba, Gavin White, Holly White, Terry S.


Chair Report

  • Third annual Earth Day Student Environmental Education Program. Thirty-eight 5th-graders, 4 sessions. JC Sawyer principal wants to do it again next year.

  • Fifth annual Pre-Marathon Litter Cleanup. Seventy-one volunteers, 22 streets, downtown parks, plus a couple miles of roadside.

  • Chief’s Mess litter cleanup of Weeksville Road. 1 mile, both sides of the road, 70 bags of litter and debris.

  • Completed two campus cleanups with students and have one scheduled in May.

  • Nita sent an email to the city Parks & Recreation Dept. showing how we use park space for outdoor environmental education and requested they keep this in mind when redeveloping the parks.

Programs & Projects Updates 

  • Do Not Litter Poster Signs. All signs have been printed. About 10 installed. Completed parks and county convenience site plans. Still need to do schools and city streets site plans.

  • Albemarle Watershed Watch. Grant paperwork complete. Sampling runs from April 2026-April 2028. 

  • Bat House Project. National Science Honor Society students at Camden High School took on the project. We provided the school with two bat boxes and the posts and supplies needed to install. The students installed one bat house on campus last Friday.

  • NexTrex Soft Plastics Recycling. Three student groups, 30+ kids grade K-8, 1,700+ pounds collected and recycled so far. None of our groups won a prize in the first quarter drawing. Ends May 30.

  • Planting for the Planet. GSG has unofficially adopted Fowley Alley. This is our third year of trimming, weeding, planting pollinator plants, and mulching to keep it looking good. We also gave Port Discover a bucket of rocks for kids to paint and put in the Rock Garden.

  • Pasquotank Paddle Trails. Westin & Sampson will be at our June meeting to discuss the feasibility study as well as the renovations at Causeway Park and College Park. Jon Hawley resigned as E.C. grants writer. Charles Jordan mentioned the county is committed to keeping public river access at the hospital property and property off N. Road St. with frontage to Knobbs Creek.

Science on Main Street

E.C. Downtown Inc. received an implementation grant to hold kid-friendly science events and create a large-scale mural of the Pasquotank River featuring educational content and QR-linked science resources. The committee met last week and determined to use the event grant funding to support community groups like GSG, Port Discover, and Pasquotank Library EcoEXPLORE in their existing science programing. We’ll discuss a possible GSG Science in the Park event for fall at a future meeting.

County Litter Issue

Pasquotank County commissioners have requested a full-time Litter Coordinator position be included in the next fiscal budget. The county will have a dedicated person working on litter management, prevention, education, and enforcement.


Upcoming Events

  • River Road Middle School Campus Cleanup – 9-10am Thursday, May 14. Volunteers: Marlene and Donna

  • Elizabeth City Middle School Plastic Sorting – 12-12:30pm, Friday, May 15. Last sorting of the school year. 

  • The Bridge Student Water Quality Testing – 3-5pm Thursday, May 21. A Day of Science for 22 elementary students. Volunteers: Marlene and Gail

  • Trashmasters Litter Cleanup – 9-11am Saturday, June 6. Downtown E.C. + Parks. Meet on the front lawn at the Museum of the Albemarle. Volunteers: Marlene, Sara, Gail, Linda

Other Business

Nita shared Emely Arrendondo’s graduation from Duke with a dual major in Environmental Science and Environmental Policy. Emely joined us when she was a sophomore at Camden High School. Congratulations Emely!


Next meeting will be Monday, June 8,5:30 p.m. at the Pasquotank County Library. Weston & Sampson will give a presentation on the status and timeline of the Pasquotank Blueways Feasibility Study.