Earth Day is just around the corner, and for many of us, it’s the perfect excuse to get outside and give some TLC back to our community and this fantastic city. If you’re looking to get involved in your neighborhood or contribute to the cleanup of your favorite Detroit park during the next week, here is a curated list of some cleanups you can register for and participate in!
PALMER PARK CLEANUP
Beginning at 10 AM on April 24th, Palmer Park Cleanup volunteers will participate in weeding, sweeping, picking up trash, as well as other activities to benefit and clean the park. Volunteers will be organized by location in order to keep individuals at safe distances from each other. Check out more details and register for this Earth Day cleanup here, and don’t forget your mask!
DEQUINDRE CUT CLEANUP
Volunteers are free to arrive anytime between the event’s hours on April 24th (10:00 AM and 2:00 PM) and are asked to dress for the occasion. Social distancing and masks are required to participate, and the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy will provide trash bags, gloves, masks, and hand sanitizer to volunteers. Check out the event page for details on registration and check-in.
EARTH WEEK CELEBRATION
Detroit River Coalition is kicking off their Earth Week Celebration, beginning April 17th through the 24th. The week is complete with virtual events, individual cleanups, and a variety of group cleanups on Earth Day itself. The individual cleanups consist of picking a section along the Iron Belle Trail on a day and time during Earth Week that works for you and depositing the picked-up trash in the provided dumpster with the Detroit River Coalition’s logo on it. Along with the satisfaction of a cleaner community, volunteers participating in the individual cleanups can join a contest to win a grand prize. Check out the details of the contest and any other info here.
PHOTO AMY SHAMBLEN / UNSPLASH
BELLE ISLE SPRING CLEANUP
This cleanup is a part of Detroit River Coalition’s Earth Week Celebration, but if you feel drawn to Belle Isle on Earth Day, check out the specifics and register here. The same individual cleanup contest rules apply to Belle Isle as well.
Of course, we don’t have to wait for Earth Day or Week to be attentive to our city’s state of beautification. Any individual ranging from young to old and residents from downtown to Farmington Hills can invest in their neighborhoods and local parks with a trash bag, a pair of gloves, and some hand sanitizer. Here are a few ways to invest in cleaning up the city before, and after, Earth Week.
GO ON A WALK, WITH A TRASH BAG
A great way to get some exercise and fresh air right now is to go on a walk around your neighborhood. But before you pop in your headphones and head outside, grab a trash or grocery bag and a pair of gloves. As you stroll down your block, audiobook playing in your ears, you can grab any trash or particles that you find.
ARRANGE YOUR OWN PARK CLEANUP
Another way to aid in keeping Detroit clean is by organizing a cleanup with your quarantine pod. Set up a date and time, meet up at your local park, and gather any trash you can find. Whoever picks up the least buys the group pizza. Not it!
THINK BEFORE YOU BUY
Possibly the best contribution to Earth Day cleanups is stopping trash buildup at its source: single-use packaging. Keep an eye on what you buy from now until Earth Day to see how much single-use materials you use from day to day. Then as you join a cleanup, compare what you find to what you used over the past days. As you pick up debris, ask yourself if there’s anything you find that you could do without. Maybe it’s Taco Bell, single-use water bottles, or plastic grocery bags. How can you minimize your use of single-use products?
