Taking place this past weekend alongside sporting events of the Border Bash, celebrating the Georgia-South Carolina football game, the Trash Bash at the Border was a volunteer effort, aiming at the cleanup and improvement of the border South Carolina and Georgia share, in the form of the Savannah River.
The mayor with the least amount of volunteers must wear the shirt of the winning city and crown the opposing mayor with the Mayor’s Cup. Augusta won last year’s challenge.
Students of North Augusta High School took part in volunteer service alongside Mayor Briton Williams in this annual project. Blake Jiunnies—a senior—states that the Trash Bash was an effort of “bringing the community of North Augusta together. It really shows how close our community is and how much we all care for our city.”
The event was seen as a competition in itself, for which state could clean up the most trash around the River, with Team South Carolina focusing on removing litter near the Savannah River, the North Augusta Greenway, Brick Pond Park, and surrounding areas.
The competition was seen to be the most enjoyable part of the competition. Yet, Jiunnies saw the most enjoyable part to be “seeing everyone come together as one and take care of the place we live in.”
Another senior at North Augusta High School, Ann Marie Partl, told about her experience at the event, stating that “Even though we’re competing against our neighbors [Augusta], the Trash Bash has brought the community together.”
What Partl saw to be the most enjoyable part of the event was “seeing a difference being made in our community and our hard work paying off.”
We look forward to next year’s Trash Bash at the Border and hope we continue to see a difference made, and more volunteers than ever!
Trash Bash at the Border Informational Flyer.