Earth Day this year is scheduled for Monday, April 22, 2024. The annual celebration, which first began in 1970 on April 22, has been going strong year to year, with people all over the globe doing their part and taking action to protect this planet.

Typically, people celebrate this day by organizing neighborhood clean-ups to pick up trash and even planting trees. So, how are Rhode Islanders celebrating Earth Day this year? There are dozens of events those interested in taking part in can sign up for and volunteer their time.

Some of the event organizers that are doing local clean-ups in Johnston, Cranston and Warwick were contacted by Beacon Communications to talk about how they’re marking this day in their neighborhoods.

Cranston

In Cranston for example, Ward 5 City Councilman Chris Paplauskas and City Council Minority Leader Nicole Renzulli are hosting a Meshanticut Park Earth Day clean-up.

“Started this clean-up about seven or eight years ago,” Paplauskas said. “We’ve been doing it annually right around Earth Day, I try to get as close to Earth Day as I can, Earth Day changes every year what day of the week it falls on. Just really an opportunity for the neighborhood and the community to come out. Meshanticut Park is highly used, it’s walkable, it’s got a lot to offer and it gets a lot of foot traffic and needing a clean-up. It’s really grown every year. Councilor Renzulli has always helped out and this year, she’s a host alongside me to do this clean-up.”

The event for this year hosted by Paplauskas and Renzulli takes place at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 20. Those who are participating are going to first meet up at Cranston West High School’s parking lot.

“We break up into teams and we walk around the park and we also clean up the parking lot at Cranston West High School because that’s where a lot of trash blows from,” Paplauskas said. “It’s where a lot of people park their cars. So we clean up the parking lot and we clean up the walking track, we walk down the lake and we try to pick up as much trash as we can.”

Renzulli, who coaches track and field at Cranston West and cross country at Western Hills Middle School says the students she coaches “utilize the lake regularly.”

“So, it is a place that a lot of people I know use,” Renzulli said. “The community love it there. It gives us a different place to go other than track. It’s important to keep it clean and pick up trash when we’re there on a regular basis if we can. It’s just a nice thing that Chris has done every year and I’ve gone with my own children to participate so now as it’s grown, he’s needed some help and so I’m going to join him in hosting. And I hope to bring my team’s practice schedule around the clean-up so that everyone can come and participate. Kids need community service hours and I think it’s very good when they want to do stuff that their classmates and them and their neighbors all benefit from.”

Paplauskas also mentioned that participating in this clean-up is an opportunity for students and scouts who need to get their community service hours.

“I try to make this clean-up as easy as possible for the kids too,” he added. “And there’s a lot of logistics that go into it. You got to get bags, water leaf bags and regular trash bags, we got to think about gloves  all different sizes, water, we give a safety briefing before we start and make sure the kids know if they see something sharp, or a needle, not to pick it up. I provide coffee and donuts as well for everybody that’s there in the morning.”

As for turnout in past years, Paplauskas says it has been around 50 to 60 people if it doesn’t rain, adding that one year “we had the whole Cranston West football team show up.”

Another City Councilor, Richard Campopiano who represents Ward 4 is co-sponsoring an Oak Lawn clean-up with Oaklawn Grange.

An event flyer says there will be a meet-up on Saturday, April 20 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Gazebo Park. This clean-up will focus on Woodlands Trail, Gazebo Park, and Grange.

“That area of Cranston gets a lot of debris over the winter because it floods and it tends to contain a lot of the debris coming from either the walking path or Oaklawn Avenue, Cranston Street, all that area,” Campopiano said. “It is an area that does need a lot of attention when it comes to the springtime. Springtime is for everything to come alive and be reborn so we want it to look good.”

This is an event Campopiano, who says he also remembers the first-ever Earth Day as a student and planted a tree during that year, has been doing since becoming a member of the City Council three years ago.

“When you become a Councilor, you become more aware of the community,” he said. “You kind of take things for granted when you’re not in that position and you think ‘Well someone else does it.’ But then when you become part of the government – you realize you got to take charge and you got to do these things or else they won’t get done.”

Similar to Palauskas and Renzulli’s event, those who need community service hours can also get them during this clean-up.

Johnston

Over in Johnston, the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council (WRWC) is holding an event on the same day.

According to their website, this event, which is one of several for their lineup of Earth Month 2024 events is aimed at beautifying “the Hillside Avenue to Manton Pond section of the Woonasquatucket River Greenway in Johnston.”

“We’re going to be doing some garden bed maintenance of some garden beds that are on the bike path and near it,” Mackenzie Kourie, the organization’s event and volunteer coordinator, said. “So we’ll be clearing out some of the brush in some spots and laying mulch. And then we’ll be doing a light painting of some of the bollards that are there protecting the bike path from the road of it. And there’s a bulletin board – we’re going to give that a fresh coat of paint. Then we’ll also be doing a big trash sweep in water and on land. There’s a spot behind the Stop and Shop there that has a bunch of trash build-up. So we plan to try and get behind there, really attack that, then also do some in-water [clean-ups], put people in waders and we’ll be planting some flowers and other native stuff.”

Kourie says that the first Clean Day event in Johnston dates back to 1996, which consisted of “Tulip planting behind Stop and Shop, before the bike Path even existed.”

“We have lots of projects coming up in Johnston, including Installation of outdoor classrooms and flood prevention, and other habitat restoration plans with potential clean up events associated,” Kourie added.

This event will also sign off on community hours for those who need their hours. Registration for this event and others organized by the WRWC can be found on their website: wrwc.org.

Warwick

In Warwick, Save The Bay and the Conimicut Village Association are also doing a clean-up on April 20. This event will take place at Conimicut Point Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

John Paul, a volunteer for Save The Bay and board member for the Conimicut Village Association, explained a partnership that both organizations have.

“A few years ago, July Lewis, volunteer manager at Save The Bay, contacted Conimicut Village Association to partner together to focus on frequent clean-ups at Conimicut Point with our volunteer efforts. Paul said. “So, we have the local ownership with Conimicut Village, Save The Bay has expertise and resources and insurance and proper training and they’ve got a lot of good infrastructure – and we work together. And the purpose wasn’t to a lot of clean-ups to pick up litter, that’s a secondary purpose, the purpose was to do the frequent clean-ups and drive down the litter.”

Paul said that clean-ups both organizations have done together have been going on “for many years” and they also work “seamlessly with the city.” He added that there is coordination with Warwick’s Parks and Recreation department to make sure the trash that’s gathered is picked up.

“It’s a really successful program,” Paul added. “Makes my life a lot easier coordinating bi-weekly clean-ups from Earth Day all the way past Columbus Day up at the Conimicut Point Park. And we do Rocky Point, and Oakland Beach, and Buttonwoods, and Salter Grove. A lot of the same people work on both – so there’s local ownership from different team members at those other parks, people that live in the area.”

Paul said this event will start with a gathering “near the lighthouse end of the park.”

“And we’ll spread and we'll do the north shore of Conimicut Park, we’ll do the south shore of Conimicut Park and we’ll circle inwards and then we’ll meet back at the point,” he added.

Save The Bay also does other clean-ups throughout the state. Additional information about those events along with signing up to volunteer for this clean-up in Warwick can be done by visiting savebay.org.

Even outside of the communities of Cranston, Johnston and Warwick, there are opportunities for Rhode Islanders to get involved during this month/Earth Day celebration. A list of additional volunteer opportunities can be viewed at litterfree.ri.gov.