Armed with a weed whacker, protective gear and a deep love for her birthplace, returning resident Michelle Jones can often be found along roadsides in St Thomas, trimming overgrown bushes and clearing public spaces, all at her own expense.

For Jones, a 47-year-old former United States Navy sailor who recently returned to Jamaica, the work is not about recognition or reward. It is her way of giving back to the parish she once left behind in search of better opportunities.

“I just want to see St Thomas looking good and I want it to be safe. I want the gutters to be clean and nice and stuff like that. That is my thing,” she told Observer Online. “And I am going to continue as long as God gives me breath and I have good health and I can stand up, the weed whacker will be working.”

The former Yallahs Primary and Seaforth High student spent much of her adult life away from her hometown. At age 18, she moved to Montego Bay, seeking opportunities she felt were unavailable in St Thomas.

“St Thomas was a little bit underdeveloped and people would need to either go to Kingston or…sometimes in Morant Bay. Not many opportunities in Morant Bay. And I wanted something bigger than that. I wouldn’t be able to show my full potential staying in St Thomas,” Jones said.

Life in Montego Bay was challenging. She worked in hotels, call centres and even aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship before migrating to the United States at age 34.

There, she began as a nurse aide before pursuing further education and eventually joining the United States Navy at age 39, the maximum age allowed at the time for enlistment in her branch of service.

“I said, ‘Alright, let’s go’…Went to boot camp, it was something. It was a challenge. But I knew where I was coming from, that I had a hard life in Jamaica. And I wanted something better. So I pushed myself.”

JONES… if anybody wants to join and help clean, I have whackers.

Her determination paid off. During her military career, Jones worked on aircraft and served aboard several naval vessels, including the USS Kearsarge and USS Harry S Truman. She also became known for helping fellow service members navigate immigration and citizenship processes.

After sustaining an injury to her left elbow, she was medically retired in December 2023.

“I was honourably discharged. I love the Navy so much. I do,” Jones said.

Although she had been making plans to relocate to Jamaica in 2027, a family crisis accelerated her return.

In August 2025, Jones returned to Jamaica and discovered her elderly grandfather living in what she described as deplorable conditions in Montego Bay.

“When I say it was bad, poop was lined up on the wall because he had dementia. And poop on the floor, pee on the floor, no light in the room at all,” she shared.

Jones immediately intervened, moving her grandfather into accommodation she rented and caring for him until his health deteriorated. He died on April 27, 2026, one month before his 93rd birthday.

After settling his affairs, Jones relocated to St Thomas on May 1.

The parish she once thought offered too few opportunities suddenly looked very different.

“St Thomas, the peace is on a different level. Peace and quiet and tranquility…I can tell you this, St Thomas is going places…Years ago, nobody could get me to live up here but this is the place I want to be,” she shared.

But while driving through the Albion community, Jones noticed something that bothered her.

“I was driving from road to road, just looking at the houses, because I was wanting to buy a piece of land…I noticed the roads were just, you know, deplorable, and the bushes were, oh goodness, the bushes out front people’s yard, and then people who, they don’t occupy the land, it’s just pure bush.”

She decided to purchase a weed whacker and began clearing public spaces herself.

“I said, I am going to get my whacker and I’m going to start cutting. I’m just going to show up in front of people’s yard, and anywhere along the roadway, I just cut…So I went to buy a whacker, the whacker is right here with me. So anywhere I see some opportunity, I’m cutting,” Jones said.

Since then, Jones has been tackling overgrown edges, sidewalks and drains throughout sections of St Thomas, often spending three days each week working under the hot sun.

One of her most recent projects involved cleaning an area near the tax office in Morant Bay.

“That place was a big mess, and I took the initiative, and me and two men who said that they take care of the property, we cleaned up that area.”

Her next focus is clearing the gutter in front of Yallahs Primary School.

“It is clogged with the bushes…August/September, it’s going to be hurricane season, even though El Nino will make the place really hot…but there will be a lot of rain, and because of clogged gutters, there is flooding, and I have witnessed young children being swept away by water,” she said.

She hopes to clear the area before heavy rains arrive and is planning additional beautification projects at the school during the summer holidays.

The initiative has been entirely self-funded. Jones estimates she has already spent close to $100,000 on equipment, fuel, protective gear and replacement parts.

“It is a one-woman operation,” she told the Observer lightly. “I am passionate about this, so I am doing my part. I’m going to take it down little by little. It nuh tek bwoy fi do this, I’m telling you.”

Pointing to her challenges, Jones said the parish’s rocky terrain frequently damages the strings and blades on her equipment, forcing repeated repairs and replacements which makes tasks much longer and more expensive than needs be.

Furthermore, Jones, who has a degree in criminal justice, is also currently pursuing a second degree in organisational leadership so her philanthropy work is done around school time.

Yet she says the reward far outweighs the cost.

“After I am done cutting and I look up at it. I say ‘Yes!” she said. “And Jamaicans are really uplifted by it.”

Her efforts have attracted attention on social media, where videos of her work have inspired others to consider taking similar action in their own communities.

“People are now asking me, ‘Hey, how can I get a whacker? Can you help me to learn how to use the whacker?’ And stuff like that. That makes me feel good. I’m like, ‘Yeah, let’s go,” she said, adding, “People are happy to see it.”

Some residents, however, remain puzzled by her willingness to work without pay.

“More people are just into, are you getting money? And when I say no, it’s like people get upset, like, ‘Oh, the Government should be doing this’.”

But for Jones, the answer is simple.

“If we keep saying that, then the place going to stay the same. There’s only so much this Government can really do…So I said, let’s start. It has to start from one person, nuh true?” she shared.

Jones is also calling on Member of Parliament James Robertson, whom she commended for the work being done across his St Thomas Western constituency, to continue efforts to clear overgrown sidewalks and clogged drains ahead of the rainy season.

“I just want to see St Thomas looking good and I want it to be safe. I want the gutters to be clean and nice and stuff like that. That is my thing. And I do call on people to come out and help,” she said.

With her US home now operating as an Airbnb, Jones plans to continue investing in the initiative and expand her equipment inventory.

“I have all kind of equipment as it pertains to landscaping locked away right now in my garage [overseas]…And all of those things will be shipped down eventually… So if anybody wants to join and help clean, I have whackers.”

She also hopes to encourage community groups across Jamaica to become more involved in keeping their surroundings clean and is even considering rewarding volunteers who take up the cause.

“If I could see people coming together in their own parish… my thing is to, every three months, sponsor a team, a trip like a weekend to a nice hotel every three months, or even to a small island. That is something that I can do,” she said. “So that is just to get people to go out there and keep their communities clean, keep Jamaica clean. Jamaica is beautiful.”

For Jones, however, the work is rooted in a deep appreciation for being back home.

“This is home. To be honest with you, America gave me opportunities but at the end of the day, I felt as though I was walking on eggshells…I do not feel as if I am walking on eggshells in Jamaica. I am here. I am back in my parish right now. I feel safe,” she explained. “This is where I belong. This is where I am supposed to be.”

As she continues travelling the roads of St Thomas with a weed whacker in hand, she wants Jamaicans to take greater pride in their communities.

“Care more. Think about the children. Think about the elderly…Sometimes it’s pride or ‘Oh it’s not my job, it’s somebody else’s job’. It’s all of our job to keep Jamaica clean.”

She also believes more can be done to prevent flooding and improve waste disposal practices, particularly through better public education and infrastructure.

“At least try to put the grill garbage receptacles, and if they could continue to educate the people: throw your garbage into these receptacles, bring them home if you have to, and dispose of them properly, because they clog drains. They’re not good for the environment. And when they clog the drains, they cause flooding. And so many people, children have passed away because of flooded areas.”

At the same time, she is encouraging residents not to wait on government programmes before taking action in their own neighbourhoods.

“On days you’re not working, like on a Sunday or so, come out with your little group and clean up your community. Clean up the community,” Jones said.