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Date: 4/6/2023
WILBRAHAM — On Earth Day, many communities hit their streets, parks and wooded areas to clean trash and other waste that has been discarded there. Wilbraham has not had such a coordinated cleanup effort, until now.
“I’ve been wanting to do [a cleanup] for years. I was surprised the town didn’t have one,” said Megan Harrigan, a Wilbraham resident and the lead organizer for Wilbraham Cleanup for Earth Day. “All age groups can participate. There’s no politics involved. I’m finding it a cool way to interact with the community without having an agenda.”
Earlier this year, Harrigan reached out to the Board of Selectmen to see if the town was interested. After she received the town’s blessing, Harrigan began seeking sponsors to handle the cost associated with the Earth Day cleanup. USA Waste & Recycling is the event’s main sponsor and is providing a dumpster at Fountain Park for the collected waste and will remove it at no cost.
Harrigan said the DPW has been “fantastic,” and will have some trucks on the roads to handle any large items or hazardous waste that is found. The Board of Selectmen, the DPW, and the Conservation Commission are also helping to provide supplies, educational material, and traffic details. Local organizations are also pitching in in various ways. Harrigan said a church is donating its time and the Friends of the Library have expressed interest in cleaning the area around the Wilbraham Public Library.
The event will kick off at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 22, at Fountain Park. The organizers will be passing out reusable water bottles and reusable bags. Volunteers spread out across town and return at 2 p.m. with the waste they have collected. Harrigan said the organizers have a list of more than 10 “high concern streets” as well as trailheads and the boat ramp for the Chicopee River, areas where trash and debris are commonly seen. People can volunteer to clean certain areas, but Harrigan explained that if there is overlap, people will be asked to cover other areas in need.
“We’re figuring out a lot of the kinks, because it’s our first year,” Harrigan said. Volunteers do not have to register, but Harrigan is hoping they will so that she can get a sense of how many people are participating. It also provides a way to send out information ahead of the event.
Harrigan praised the number of Earth Day events in town. She said Mile Tree Elementary School is giving out saplings and Stony Hill School is doing a shoe recycling project. Wilbraham Public Library is running an awareness campaign and there will be a presentation on the importance of bees and other pollinators on Earth Day. Next door in Hampden the town is sponsoring a “Green Day” clean up, as well.
“I hope that we can respect our planet, educate our youth and keep Wilbraham clean,” Harrington said. “I’m a mother of four and I talked to my kids about nips on the side of the road and how it gives the wrong messages to youth about how common or acceptable that behavior is,” Harrigan said. “I am doing this for my kids.”
To learn more or register for the cleanup, visit sites.google.com/view/wilbraham-earth-day-cleanup.