By Adway S. Wadekar, Contributing Writer
Photo/Melanie Petrucci
Westborough – Earth Day, which is held annually on April 22, marks the anniversary of a modern movement that started in 1970. Its primary purpose was to raise awareness about how human actions pollute our environment and threaten the survival of our planet. Since its inception, the day is recognized across the world through a number of activities that include picking up plastic, glass, and other litter.
Keeping with its tradition, the Westborough Community Land Trust (WCLT) organized the local Earth Day litter cleanup for April 21. Early Bird volunteers gathered at two locations: the Westborough Plaza traffic island, and at the corner of Bellows Road and Rt. 30. A larger group of volunteers gathered at 9:30 a.m. at the Bay State Commons Green. With disposable trash bags, gloves, and maps of clean up locations, volunteers dispersed all across the town to pick up the offending items.
A new feature of this year’s cleanup effort was the designation of kid-friendly sites, which were areas away from heavy traffic. The goal of designating these sites was to encourage the participation from the younger citizens of the town. One Westborough teen’s motivation was, “I plan on living on this planet for a long, long time. I want to make sure my life isn’t dirty.” Another young volunteer’s motivation was simply “to help the community in which I live.” This goal was surely accomplished; one group of parents and their young children representing Westborough’s elementary schools, Fales, Armstrong, and Hastings, took advantage of these kid friendly sites. Hundreds of bags of trash were picked up by the end of the morning.
Although volunteers came from all walks of life, their palpable enthusiasm, dedication, and pride in helping keep Westborough beautiful, was one thing that they shared in common. WCLT’s Education Committee Chair, Janet Anderson, was pleased to report that, “About 285volunteers joined the cleanup!”
After their hard work, volunteers were treated to a picnic lunch sponsored by local vendors, including Arturo’s Ristorante, both Westborough Stop & Shops, Roche Bros. and Dunkin Donuts. Volunteers went home with a coupon for a complimentary bouquet of flowers from Mugford’s Flower Shoppe in appreciation of their participation.
