NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It's a messy mission that Tim Berberich says he's happy to take on.
As the new Nashvillian walks though his neighborhood, he picks up litter as he goes, using a grabber to find pieces of trash big and small.
"I've found a lot of balloons here in the park from people having parties," he said, while walking through Shelby Park. "It adds up surprisingly quickly."
Usually Berberich is joined by his dog, Francois, who he also rescued from the street.
"I actually found him on the street too, we found him and now he's ours," Berberich said with a laugh.
He said he tries to make his rounds as often as he can.
"I've actually gotten a lot of people who have said thank you or something like that," Berberich said.
Because of that response, he took those clean-up walks one step further and created a Facebook group called East Nashville Cleaning Crew. There, he encourages others others to help pick up litter, too.
"I went on Facebook to try and figure out if there already was a group doing some cleanup, and I got a lot of people saying 'no, but I'd love to join one if you find it,'" he said. "After a while with that I said 'well, I guess I'll just make it,' and then overnight I had like 80 or so people join, I couldn't believe it."
Now he's hoping the push can turn into a movement that can inspire others.
"It's really satisfying. When I finish I look around and knowing other people get to come and enjoy the park how its supposed to be enjoyed, or walk down the street and not see a bunch of trash, its just nice to know that you had a part in keeping it beautiful," he said. "I really connected with and love East Nashville, and I want to do my part to help keep it beautiful."
