BOSTON (WHDH) - A small army of volunteers fanned out to collect thousands of pounds of trash from along the Charles River on Saturday during one of the nation’s largest Earth Day cleanups.
More than 3,000 people were out working at about 80 sites, including parks, forests, playgrounds and paths along the Charles River watershed throughout Massachusetts.
The 24th annual Earth Day Charles River Cleanup — hosted by the Charles River Conservancy, Charles River Watershed Association, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Emerald Necklace Conservancy, Esplanade Association, and Waltham Land Trust — was just one of the many volunteer efforts unfolding across the Commonwealth.
Volunteer Donnie Todd said he was happy to be out helping clean up the area along the river in Boston.
“It’s rewarding, we all live here, if we can give back, any way we can, we’re here to do it, and this is an easy way to do it,” he said.
Emily Norton, of the Charles River Watershed Association, said, “Obviously, we’d love it if we didn’t need to do these cleanups but people really do make a difference. They make a demonstrable difference. After spending two hours and seeing the piles of bags and trash that they collect and all the unusual items that they find, I think it gives them a good feeling.”
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