CLEVELAND — It’s that time of year when National Volunteer Week (April 16-22) overlaps with Earth Day (April 22) – which means that it’s the perfect time to point out that volunteers can make a big difference when it comes to taking care of our environment.
And now that it’s springtime, opportunities to take part in clean-ups are sprouting across Greater Cleveland, hosted by local environmental groups.
More than 100 volunteers showed up last week to kick off the clean-up season by tidying up Doan Brook, the important waterway that meanders from Shaker Lakes all the way down to Lake Erie.
“This is an annual event that we host to not just clear winter’s worth of trash that accumulates in our parks along the Doan Brook but also a great way for folks to put their concerns for the environment into action and show some stewardship,” said Victoria Mills, executive director of Doan Brook Watershed Partnership.
Char Fowler was among the volunteers who went about their work with enthusiasm, filling dozens of bags with trash collected from the brook and surrounding roads. She doesn’t live far from Doan Brook and that’s why she volunteered, Fowler said. “This is part of our neighborhood and too many days we drive down and shake our heads about the amount of litter we see.”
A host of environmental organizations are hosting community clean-ups in the coming weeks, and they’re all looking for volunteers. Here are some activities taking place this Earth Day weekend:
- Nature Center at Shaker Lakes invites volunteers for a clean-up, 10 am-2 pm April 22, at 2600 S. Park Blvd., Cleveland. No registration required, bring your own gloves if you can.
- Trust For Public Land will host a spring clean-up in Rockefeller Park and Cultural Gardens, 10 am-1 pm April 22, starting at 1051 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Cleveland. RSVP to laura.hnat@tpl.org
- Earth Day Festival Clean-up at Coe Lake in Berea, 10 am-noon April 22, sponsored by Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District and Sustainable Berea. Meet at Coe Lake Gazebo, 85 S. Rocky River Dr., Berea.
- A “Spring Clean Up & Social In the Heights” will be held 2-5 pm on April 23 at various locations throughout Cleveland Heights. Sponsors: Coventry Neighborhood Group, Future Heights and Cleveland Heights Green Team.
And many more clean-up projects are being offered in coming weeks. Here’s a sample:
- The annual Big Creek Clean-Up takes place from 9 am-noon on April 29 at the following locations: Brookfield Park, Brooklyn City Fire Department and Snow Road Picnic Area along Big Creek Parkway. Sponsored by Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District and Big Creek Connects. Click here for more information and to register.
- Cleveland Heights Green Team and Green Noble will host a clean-up of the Caledonia Ravine at 10:30 am April 29. Meet at the old Warner and Swasey Observatory, 1975 N. Taylor Rd., Cleveland Heights. Bags will be provided.
- Trust for Public Land and Canalway Partners will host Riversweep, a clean-up of the Cuyahoga riverfront near West 25th Street in Cleveland, 9 am to noon on May 6. RSVP to laura.hnat@tpl.org
- Join Doan Brook Watershed Partnership, Friends of Lower Lake and the City of Shaker Heights sustainability committee for a native species planting workday at South Park and Courtland boulevards from 10 am-1 pm May 13. Register at www.doanbrookpartnership.org. Volunteers of all ages welcome.
- Metroparks will hold monthly clean-ups at Acacia Reservation, on May 20, June 24, July 22 and Aug. 19. Participants will remove litter from the stream restoration area at Metroparks Acacia Reservation and participate in a community science project monitoring the composition and types of litter. Long sleeves, long pants and waterproof shoes recommended. Gloves, trash bags and trash pickers will be provided. Click here for the adult sign-up form, and click here for the youth registration form (under age 18).
- Rocky River Riverside Council hosts its annual clean-up and barbecue from 9 am- noon June 3, at the Emerald Necklace Marina, 1500 Cleveland Metro Park Drive, Lakewood. Details here.