Spring has sprung and that means annual cleanups in honor of Earth Month and Earth Day are taking place across the Twin Cities and beyond.
A group of energetic students from McKay Elementary School in Fitchburg working in conjunction with the United Way Youth Venture Program did a cleanup of the Mama Fitz Playground on Green Street on April 13, located right near the Fitchburg State University Recreation Center.
“This [was] planned and developed by the group of students, which also led me to the idea of this group to pilot the Junior Park Ranger Program in the City of Fitchburg,” said Fitchburg Recreation Director James Bunnell, adding that the students worked “with members of my parks crew to help clean up the playground.”
The students all received an official brightly colored park ranger t-shirt and pledge certificate. Bunnell said they were thrilled to have the helping hands, “something very positive for the city.”
A cleanup recently took place at Coolidge Park in conjunction with Keep Fitchburg Beautiful, an affiliate of Keep Massachusetts Beautiful, and Fitchburg Dog Park volunteers. A dozen volunteers picked up seven bags of litter and 30 bags of leaves, a pile of branches, cleaned the fence all around the park, cut back trees and bittersweet, picked up toys and dog poop, emptied the three green poop cans and the two main park trash cans, and filled the Little Free Library located there with more books.
“Big day!! Park looks amazing,” Keep Fitchburg Beautiful founder and City Councilor Sam Squailia posted on social media following the busy day.
There are several more cleanups scheduled over the next several weeks and into May. A full list of planned events can be found at keepfitchburgbeautiful.com/events.
In celebration of the Earth on Saturday, the city of Fitchburg and InTown Fitchburg will host a “Fitchburg Celebrates Earth Day” event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., designed to educate about adopting environmentally sustainable habits and taking action. The event will feature live music, food, vendors and resources. The fun is set to take place at the Johnsonia lot on the corner of Main and Putnam streets. More information can be found at intownfitchburg.com.
This year’s Leominster Citywide Cleanup will kick off on Saturday April 22, Earth Day, and will run through May 20. Thanks to the generosity of local sponsors, the city is able to provide volunteers with t-shirts, trash bags, and gloves available first come, first served in the Office of Business and Tourism at Leominster City Hall.
City residents select a location and pick up trash on their own time. Once they are done, they can call the Leominster Department of Public Works at 978-534-7596 to let them know where they left the bags and the DPW will pick them up. Details and updates can be found on the Citywide Cleanup Facebook page.
