WESTFIELD–City officials have chosen the locations of the city’s fifth annual Earth Day Clean-up on April 22 and are still looking for volunteers.
The event is set to begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday, April 22, with participants gathering at the Masonic Lodge on Broad Street. The cleaning will cover a variety of areas in the city, including two spots on Route 20, and will also provide participants with both breakfast and lunch. Clean-up is expected to last until noon, with participants meeting back at the lodge by 1 p.m. So far, event organizer and Conservation Commission coordinator Karen Leigh said about 70 volunteers have signed up.
“I’m worried we will never have enough trash for people but then, in the end, I wish we had more people,” Leigh said.
The areas that will be cleaned are as follows:
- Twiss Street transfer station
- Behind 46 South Broad Street
- Route 20 from Auto Mall to East Main Street
- Route 20 rest area across from the railroad signal
- National Guard Bridge on Main Street
- Neck Road, extending from the Westfield Water Department going north
- Medeiros Way
- Thomas Street area
- Russell Road across from Tekoa
- Chauncey Allen Park, particularly Grandmother’s Garden
- Franklin St-Orange Street area
- Ponders Hollow area
Participants will be divided into groups to tackle the many areas throughout the city, and the event will happen regardless of weather. Participants will also be provided with gloves, bags and safety vests.
The Monday after the event, the Westfield Department of Public Works will finish the efforts by gathering the bags and debris and properly disposing of it at the appropriate facilities.
To sign up, you can call Karen Leigh of the city’s Conservation Commission, at (413)572-6281 for more information.
Portions of this article appeared in an April 6 article of The Westfield News
