The Quicker Litter Picker-Upper
by Laura Breen Galante
If you frequent the Cross Seminole Trail in Lake Mary, you’ve likely seen Teresa Prevatt picking up litter as she makes her daily trek along the pathway.
Teresa moved here 32 years ago after leaving an abusive marriage and has been cleaning up the community ever since. She chose Lake Mary – which was mostly trees and orange groves back then – because it was scenic and she didn’t know anyone here.
“I wanted to move somewhere where I didn’t know a soul,” says Teresa. “I’m a seventh-generation Florida cracker with a lot of family in DeLand. I wanted to start all over with a new beginning. Lake Mary is so beautiful because of all the lakes and trees.”
Teresa rises before dawn on weekdays so she can see the sunrise on the trail.
“I wake up at 5:00 a.m. like a jack-in-the-box – I don’t even set the alarm,” she says.
After a cup of coffee and a quick read of the newspaper, she’s out the door by 6:00 a.m., armed with trash bags to collect litter as she walks, covering at least five miles per day. On weekends, she leaves the house a little later, but the 71-year-old rarely misses a day, greeting everyone she sees on the trail with a friendly hello.
Simple Pleasures
A registered nurse and licensed massage therapist by trade, Teresa enjoys walking for the health benefits and the inner peace it brings her. She takes photos of the sunrise nearly every morning and has names for the animals she encounters on the trail.
“They may be simple things, but they make me happy,” she says. “And I thought as long as I’m walking, I want to keep Lake Mary beautiful.”
As she walks, Teresa collects any litter she finds, putting it into bags she stashes in her pockets. She logs about 40 miles per week on the trail and surrounding sidewalks, filling at least six Publix grocery bags per day with litter.
Teresa has officially adopted two portions of the Cross Seminole Trail, at the trailhead on Green Way Boulevard and on Greenwood Boulevard near the Jax 5th Ave. Deli & Ale House, where passersby can see her name on Seminole County Department of Leisure Services signs.
A Community Influencer
And now, Teresa is becoming a role model for younger generations.
Jessica and Blake McKeeby, who live in Longwood off Lake Emma Road with their three children, noticed Teresa picking up litter and were impressed by her efforts. To show their appreciation, the McKeeby kids (ages 5, 7, and 10) signed a thank-you card and gave it to Teresa during one of her walks. And that’s not all.
“She’s inspired us as a family,” says Jessica. “In response to her cleaning up, we clean our own street. My husband wanted our kids to do something selfless in response to her selfless act.”
Another neighbor also gave Teresa a thank-you note and a gift card, which she used to buy signs reminding people not to litter. Teresa placed one sign on her car, which reads: “Please respect the place you call home and don’t litter.” She installed the other on the trail, which says: “In the forest and the mountains, animals do not leave trash, humans do. Please behave like animals.”
Often, Teresa cleans up an area only to return the next day to find the same spot covered with trash again. Even so, she remains undeterred in her mission to help keep Lake Mary litter-free.
“It’s worth it to look out and see green grass and trees and not trash,” says Teresa.