Pictured Above: St. Petersburg resident Aron Bryce (kneeling, front) and a team of volunteers gathered together to clean up a local park after Bryce organized the event through one of his many community-centric Facebook groups.
Courtesy of Aron Bryce
By Rachel Craig
Through community building and keeping our city clean, park cleanups serve as a catalyst for St. Petersburg residents to establish a taste for local involvement.
Aron Bryce, founder of the Facebook group We Love St. Pete Parks, hosted a community cleanup at Walter Fuller Park on May 15, drawing together efforts from city residents who were eager to volunteer their time and make the park a more beautiful place.
Bryce’s success with the page motivated him to utilize his influence for the betterment of the community.
“Thankfully the group has over 3,000 members now, and many have expressed a sincere desire to get involved with the cleanups,” Bryce said. “Particularly after posting about the success of our first one at Walter Fuller this past weekend.”
After posting details of the cleanup on the group’s Facebook page, Bryce’s efforts attracted a hard working crew of page members who showed up with gloves in hand, ready to work.
Aron’s use of social media has been focused on helping to form meaningful connections, build a stronger community and spark positive change.
“For me, personally, it has come down to I have these platforms, what can I do with them that will help bring people in the St. Pete area together?,” Bryce said.
The cleanup allowed a group of people to join forces and pick up litter as a team, including two USF St. Petersburg students, Juliana Kane, a senior anthropology major and her boyfriend, Cozy DeRosa.
“Any small action or step that one can take to better the environment is something that everyone should be interested in,” Kane said. “The clean up only took up an hour of my day and I left feeling good!”
Kane found Bryce’s group through student-focused Facebook group USFSP’s The Know It All’s Guide To Knowing It All. It prompted her to take initiative in caring for the environment, while also meeting people and getting some fresh air.
Kane plans to continue working with the group and attend future meetups, as she described this successful venture was an easy way to “participate and make a small, positive change.”
Park cleanups are one of Bryce’s many efforts to help make the city a more beautiful place. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, he organized several other safe and inclusive events that helped to bring city residents together.
“We have lived through so much isolation, division, and negativity in the past year. And I believe these outdoor activities have truly been a life-saver,” Bryce said. “They allow for people to get outside in the fresh air and sunshine, and meet new people.”
Bryce invites those interested in participating in future cleanups to join the We Love St. Pete Parks Facebook group.
