For the past twenty years, the Regional Environmental Council, a grass-roots, non-profit organization based in Worcester, has sponsored annual Earth Day cleanups. According to the press release, “This annual city-wide event gives neighbors a chance to roll up their sleeves and take pride in their neighborhoods.” I had heard about the cleanups in the past, but this year I decided to participate.

I volunteered to help out at Bovenzi Woods, so at 8:30 this morning I turned in to Marchen Drive, off Brattle Street between Doyle and Ararat.  Colin Novick, Director of the Greater Worcester Land Trust, had already arrived, armed with gloves for us and a stack of yellow and black trash bags.  Four of us worked the site until a bit past 11, hauling junk out of the woods and leaving it neatly piled on the curb for the Worcester DPW guys to pick up.

The day was cloudy but the rain held off, and the cooler temperatures were ideal for this type of work. I was dismayed at the amount of trash that looked like it had simply been flung down into a gully years ago: we found a lot of plastic flower pots and automotive parts, including tires, mufflers, and oil filters. When I said something to the effect that I didn’t understand the mentality of people who would do this, Colin said that the environmental stewardship ethic is probably a recent phenomenon.  People are just beginning to realize that undeveloped land has intrinsic value and that they ought to care for it.

No photos today, so trust me when I say that we extricated a lot of industrial-strength waste from Bovenzi Conservation Park, this 120-acre wooded parcel owned outright by the Land Trust, minutes from I-190 but the source of the cleanest flowing waters in Worcester.