Again this year I volunteered to help with an Earth Day clean-up in Worcester, a recurring annual event sponsored by the Regional Environmental Council. The Greater Worcester Land Trust, a site co-ordinator, determined that the Crow Hill protected conservation area was in need of this service, so that’s where I began my day, together with about two dozen other concerned citizens.  GWLT Director Colin Novick and Member Co-ordinator Mary Caulway organized us into teams and distributed the bright yellow trash bags which you see in this photo.  We were a motley crew: parents and children, students and retirees.

The day promised to be unseasonably warm and sunny, so I slathered on sunscreen, and fearing another tick episode, sprayed myself with insect repellant, then set off along the trail.  Within a few hundred yards, we started seeing the trash.  It was horrible stuff, and I don’t want to want to bore you with the details.  Suffice it to say that we worked steadily until almost noon, battling ants, poison ivy, thorns, and mud.  We filled bag after bag and dragged them to a central pick-up site.  At one of the points along the trail where the junk was abundant, Colin rigged up a pulley so that we could fill a large metal trash can with industrial waste and haul it up the hillside.  I was appalled that people would pollute the landscape with this kind of trash, but I think this all happened many years ago, before an environmental stewardship ethic had seeped into public awareness.  That mitigated my anger somewhat, and I simply ground my teeth and continued working until we were called to a cook-out lunch.

I can’t estimated the Crow Hill contribution to the city-wide effort; overall, there were 60 sites and 20 tons of trash collected.  I hope to see the day when this won’t be necessary, but alas, I don’t think it will be in my lifetime.