Cleanups make a
difference! If you are looking to plan an event that has immediate,
satisfying results, cleaning-up the river or streams is the way to
go.
A
past NepRWA intern, Britt Lundgren, planned a successful
clean-up and wrote up the steps she took to carry it out. Reading
these steps will help you understand what should
be considered when running a clean-up. Britt also prepared a list of
people to contact, such as grocery stores to donate food or
hardware stores to donate trash bags.
If you would like to organize and lead a clean-up event,
see below for guidelines and
suggestions.
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* * *
Here are a few main points
on which to focus:
Providing food for the volunteers pre- and post-clean-up,
Taking care of things like permitting and trash disposal,
and
Deciding where people are going to do the cleaning.
Take care of the trash
pick-up, early on. You
might find that though you've been promised a dumpster by an agency
or company, the dumpster might not be available the day that you
need it. It's a good idea to try to secure this early on.
Also, you could try asking BFI or Waste Management if they
could come and pick-up the trash or donate a dumpster.
Food. In
the past, Boston
Bagel has provided bagels and Equal Exchange has provided coffee and free travel mugs. Though
these donations were not difficult to obtain, it is best to contact
companies far in advance of the event itself. Several grocery stores
have donated supplies. All chain grocery stores
get input from their headquarters on making donations, so be sure to
approach them at least two months before the clean-up.
Supplies. Hardware stores
are often willing to donate gloves and trash bags.
Dave Murphy at the Quincy Parks Department has also donated
these items. The MA Department
of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has supplied rakes,
"trash-pickers" (sticks with a pointy, metal tip),
gloves, and bags. Approach
DCR early on in the process, to borrow these items.
Setting a
date. Find out when public schools are
on vacation. During vacation, very few families will be available to
participate in a clean-up. Also, if the clean-up is going to be on the ocean, check the
tides for that day, and make sure you pick a date when low tide
occurs in the morning!
Permit.
Permits may be necessary. For example, to have a picnic at Squantum Point Park, you need
to obtain a permit from DCR. Start
to obtain permits as soon as you’ve set a date for the clean-up.
Compiled
by Britt Lundgren, former NepRWA Intern.
