Walking with plastic bags in their hands, student and professors from Miami Dade College's Carrie P. Meek Entrepreneurial Education Center picked up garbage to celebrate Green the Block National Day of Service on Sept. 11.

The Meek Center focused on a four-block area in Liberty City between Northwest Seventh and Eighth avenues and 62nd and 64th streets.

``Green is very important to our college,'' said H. Leigh Toney, executive director of the outreach branch of MDC's North Campus. ``We did a lot with very little. We don't have a tremendous amount of resources so we absolutely relied on the county and city coming forward.''

The goal of the event was to educate residents and particularly young people about the importance of being good stewards of the environment, she said.

The center joined forces with the not-for-profit organizations Green For All, the Hip-Hop Caucus, and Big Blue and You, which aim to increase environmental awareness.

``This is such a great portal to reach out to the community,'' said Daniell Washington, 22, founder and CEO of Big Blue and You. ``It is especially important to our young people, who are able and willing to use themselves as vessels to create positive change in our community.''

The event featured a ``greening your environment'' read-aloud program for elementary school kids from Sheyes of Miami, and several information booths that explained to Liberty City residents about programs and careers to increase quality jobs and opportunities in the green industry.

``My role is to create awareness in students, and inform them that there are careers in green jobs,'' said Bettye Cepeda, career specialist and counselor with Miami Dade College, North Campus. She handed out flyers and a list of green companies in South Florida to students.

Costco donated food and provided information about green technologies, including energy efficient light-bulbs and appliances.

``We expect to continue with more Green the Block events in coming years,'' Toney said.

``We want to do this every National Day of Service.''