ADAMS, Mass. — Earth Day has come and gone but community members are continuing to make strides to clean up their neighborhoods in recognition of it.

 

The Northern Berkshire Events Committee has partnered with the Adams Beautification Group to host the fourth annual community cleanup day, during which residents will clean up 10 locations throughout town.

 

The event will take place this Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon, with participants meeting at the Adams Visitor Center. A rain date is scheduled for Saturday, May 2. Refresh from a day of cleaning with pizza provided by Dough Boys Pizza. 

 

Locations slated for cleanup are Sail Park by AJ's Restaurant, Veterans Park on Columbia Street, the train station, Hoosac Street Gardens, the Adams Hometown Market parking lot, Fisk Road and Fisk Street, and Edmunds Street, and the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail beginning at the Visitor Center to Grove Street, and Siara Street Park. 

 

"We are encouraging many volunteers to bring any tools that they may have, such as gloves, rakes, shovels, brooms, dust pans, hand snips, shears — anything that they can bring to help make the cleanup even more effective," said Jessica Girard, events committee chair. 

 

"The beautification group will have safety vests for those working closer to traffic."

 

The event will include a friendly competition with prizes and Second Chance Composting will also be on-site to promote sustainable waste practices. The town's Department of Public Works is supplying bags and a truck to help the day run smoothly. 

 

Picking up trash benefits everyone — from children playing outside to dog walkers and local wildlife —helping create a healthier environment for all, Girard said. 

 

"It aligns with the mission of Earth Week because we should all be helping to promote the beautification and health of our planet," she said. 

 

The Adams Beautification Group surveyed various areas around town to identify the locations most in need of attention, including sites requiring cleanup, raking, composting, and trash removal, she said. 

 

They also prioritized areas close to the Adams Visitor Center so volunteers can easily walk or quickly travel to sites on clean-up day.

 

The community service activity is a great way for the community to come together and take pride in the town you live, visit, or work in by making a visible impact as we all head into the spring season, she said. 

 

"After a few years of consistent effort, many of the areas we previously focused on no longer need the same level of attention and clean up effort, which really speaks to the power of showing up year after year," Girard said. 

 

Ten locations is an ambitious amount, said Selectman Jay T. Meczywor, who serves on the NBEC. 

 

"We can do it though," Girard said, explaining they have planned out what needs to get done and how many people each location requires.