New London— A 5-year-old is proving his passion for the environment by organizing weekly cleanups in the New London area.

Levi Chappelle, a native of New London, is familiar with local publicity. In 2017 he made the news for making 160 "blessing bags" for the homeless at New London's soup kitchen for his fourth birthday. Recently, he gained positive attention for his Facebook group "Levi's Clean Up Crew."

Levi's mother, Jordan Chappelle, said that she is raising her son to give back instead of take. For Levi's second and third birthdays, he asked for donations to New London Fire Department's Burn Foundation in lieu of gifts. Now, their focus is on cleaning their community.

The idea for a community trash pickup stemmed from Levi's interest in ocean life. Jordan Chappelle said that Levi watches Netflix's "Catching Monsters" and is fascinated by fish and ocean pollution.

Levi told Jordan that he wanted to clean the ocean over the summer. She decided to post on her Facebook page about their plan to clean different New London streets to prevent further pollution of the oceans every Tuesday at 9 a.m. The post, shared 114 times since June 18, was flooded with comments from others interested in joining Levi. Jordan decided to create the separate page to give updates on their trash cleanups. So far, it has over 230 members.

The first group cleanup was held June 26, with 35 volunteers alongside Levi. Levi's crew received donations of kid's garden gloves, traffic vests and trash grabbers from Ledge Light Health District and Southeastern Connecticut Regional Resources Recovery Authority in order to gather trash safely. Judi Cox, Levi's grandmother, said the volunteers cleaned up over 140 pounds of trash in less than two hours.

The cleanup began at 9 a.m at the municipal parking lot on Bank Street and divided in four teams to cover surrounding streets. The group finished at Parade Plaza at 10:30 a.m. After the cleanup, SCRRRA donated Mr. G's Restaurant pizza for the volunteers and weighed the trash. New London Public Works provided 90-gallon trash bins to ensure proper disposal of the waste.

Levi is a boy of few words and humble action. When asked about the clean up, Levi said, "I've had 300 percent fun!"

Levi and his crew have been recognized by the New London Police Department and patch.com for their community efforts. Mr. G's Restaurant also offered to donate pizza for the next cleanup, which took place Tuesday, July 2, at Bates Woods.

"These kids are cleaning up after all the adults," Jordan Chappelle said. "Hopefully this teaches the younger generation that they have a voice."