By Anne Marie Amacher
DAVENPORT — Caring for and protecting the environment are values that the Catholic Church encourages. So the Diocese of Davenport headquarters is taking strides to help promote those values by participating in the Make it Yours program.
Dave Wolfe, maintenance supervisor for the diocese, said Bishop Martin Amos encouraged him to look into a cleanup project along West Central Park Avenue in Davenport. The diocesan offices and adjacent land owned by St. Ambrose University border that street. The bishop also had Wolfe look into securing a community grant related to these environmentally friendly efforts.
Make it Yours is similar to the Adopt-a-Road program and is sponsored by the Waste Commission of Scott County’s iLivehere program.
Char Maaske, chief financial officer for the diocese, worked with Wolfe on getting the diocese signed up for the Make it Yours program. “This is a great effort for our community,” she said. “We have walkers on our staff who appreciate our grounds and area and are willing to pick up trash along the way. It’s a natural fit for us to take a stop to keep our neighborhood clean.”
The diocese signed a two-year contract with Make it Yours which requires a twice yearly cleanup commitment. Wolfe hopes during non-winter months that the cleanup will happen every two weeks, if possible.
The diocese’s responsibility runs from Armil to Harrison Street on both sides of West Central Park.
Bags, litter tongs, safety vests and gloves will be provided to staffers who volunteer to do the cleanup. The diocese will dispose of the garbage collected.
For the community grant, Wolfe worked with diocesan Development Director Sister Laura Goedken, OP, and Dorothy Spiess, housekeeping. Together they decided the grant would go toward purchase of cloth napkins for use in the dining room daily. “We would like to eliminate paper napkins,” Wolfe said. He is working on the application for the $1,000 grant.
The diocese continues its recycling efforts. Paper, cardboard, plastic and oil are recycled. Styrofoam cups have been replaced with more eco-friendly paper cups.
