This year’s Great American Cleanup is going beyond just cleaning up, and we think that’s a great thing that provides more opportunities for people to get involved.

The event is coming up on May 3 and 4, and there are several varieties of projects to keep Suffolk volunteers busy and interested.

The grassroots community program, Great American Cleanup, is a call to action to engage more volunteers and participants to public space cleanup, beautification and recycling events. This year’s theme is #cleanYOURblock, encouraging folks to go home after their volunteerism experience and organize a similar, smaller-scale event near their own home.

Opportunities in Suffolk will include planting a blueberry bed, maintaining the riparian buffer and native plant arboretum at Sleepy Hole Park and several trash pickups, with the interesting twist that some of the trash might end up in a piece of art done by scrap artist Sam Hundley.

You can find out more about the events in today’s news section.

And, in keeping with the national theme, after you participate in one of these events, here are some easy ways to clean your own block, provided by Keep America Beautiful.

Set a goal to pick up litter outside for at least 15 minutes every day.

Keep the front of your home and surrounding areas clean and inviting with flowers, trees and plants, and don’t forget to mow your lawn.

Teach children to properly dispose trash and recycle with fun activities.

Organize a community initiative, like a community garden, neighborhood watch group or yard sale.

Cover your pickup loads to prevent trash or other items from spilling out.

Clean up graffiti or turn graffiti-ridden walls into community murals.

Keep storm drains clear of litter.

Pick up after your pets.

Use reusable bags when shopping to reduce waste.

Properly dispose of cigarette butts.

Adopt a highway.

Revitalize and clean up a local park or playground.

Engage local businesses in litter-prevention activities.

Get rid of unwanted vehicles, motorcycles or boats, perhaps by donating them to Keep America Beautiful’s Vehicle Donation Program.

There are lots of ideas you can use to keep your corner of the world clean. Let this spark your imagination!