By Katelyn Dooley

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Students were caught “blue-handed” this weekend picking up litter for the Green Apple Day of Service Saturday.

Ten UK students participated in the third annual international Green Apple Day of Service, held by Green Apple, an international organization that suggests projects like gardening, picking up litter or beginning sustainability projects.

“Before this year, we held these events at K-12 schools and churches,” said Chris Tyler, a facilitator on the Kentucky U.S. Green Building Council board. “I think it’s important we do this at UK because, even though it might sound cliché, these are our future leaders. Community involvement and giving back is important. Why not start on campus?”

The Kentucky Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council coordinated the event in conjunction with UK’s “Pick It Up” campaign to keep campus litter-free and promote stewardship, said Britney Thompson, a board member of the council and UK energy engineer for the physical plant division.

The volunteers were provided with trash bags and blue latex gloves before being assigned an area of the campus to begin picking up trash.

“I don’t see why people wouldn’t want to volunteer for something like this,” said human health sciences junior Beverly Alexander.

“I’m here because this is my campus,” psychology junior Natashia Cheatham said. “I want it to be clean, and I’m sure I’ve littered in the three years that I’ve been here. It’s time to give back.”

Communications senior Elizabeth Zoeller, a new student intern for the green building council, said she felt very blessed to be involved. Kentucky’s U.S. Green Building Council connects students of different cultural backgrounds and academic interests to places where they can make a difference, Zoeller added.

Social work junior Ashleigh McCarron also attended with Alexander and Cheatham.

“I’m on campus Monday through Friday. It’s nice to have a clean place to walk through,” McCarron said.

Biosystems engineering freshman Alexis Abdullah volunteered alone and said her friends poked fun at her when they found out she would be spending her Saturday picking up trash.

“Yeah, I’m picking up trash, Abdullah said. “I see all kinds of trash around the cans but not in them. I want to do something about it.”

Allison Hoffman, a student sustainability council member and interior design sophomore, said the event promoted thoughtfulness.

“College students don’t think about everything they do,” Hoffman said. “Seeing this trash piled up definitely makes me think again.”