Seattle, WA -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/23/2012 -- Everyday is Earth Day for volunteers of the GreenFriends Pacific Northwest Litter Project (GFLP) whose members pick up, and meticulously sort and dispose of litter for community service projects. Recently a GFLP work team covered blocks of Hing Hay Park in the International District of Seattle and collected 16, 560 cigarette butts in two hours as part of Kick Butts Day and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids sponsored by the United Health Foundation.

Similar work teams had earlier done the same for King County Tobacco Prevention Program at Cal Anderson Park on Capital Hill (6,536 butts), and Rotary (902 butts) and Wilmot Gateway (653 butts) parks in Woodinville.

GFLP organizer Karuna Pool said,

“We love serving Mother Nature in this way. Every time we clean a park, beach or city street, we are seen by passerby’s, maybe some of them will be inspired to start a litter project and teach their children about littering.”

Over 220 volunteers logged 1529 hours in work projects in Washington, Oregon and British Columbia as part of GreenFriends, a global grassroots environmental movement that promotes awareness and participation aimed at preserving our precious environment (http://www.amma.org/humanitarian-activities/nature/green-friends-initiative.html).

GreenFriends members formed the group having been inspired by Mata Amritanandaymayi or Amma, the internationally renowned humanitarian and spiritual leader, who launched a nationwide campaign to clean India’s public places and highways ( http://www.amritapuri.org/activity/social/abc).

According to Amma, “Nature on its own is indeed beautiful and clean. The hills and rivers do not need us to clean them. In fact it is nature’s water which cleans us; it is trees which purify air for us. Because we have littered, we have spoilt its pristine beauty.”

Amma’s 2012 ten-city Summer Tour begins in the Pacific Northwest, with free public programs at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue on May 31 and June 3. To learn more about the GreenFriends Pacific Northwest Litter Project or Amma’s visit to the Pacific Northwest go to www.seattlesatsang.amma.org