Volunteers take on Breakheart cleanup project

SAUGUS – Breakheart Reservation in Saugus is looking a little greener after nearly 60 volunteers from town descended on the 640-acre park this past weekend for what some are hoping to be the first of many annual spring cleanup events.?It was fun,” said Joan LeBlanc, Executive Director of the Saugus River Watershed Council. “We had close to 60 people in total and people did a lot of different projects. People hiked around on the trails picking up trash from a number of spots that the staff at Breakheart identified as problem areas and we also did landscaping projects like mulching around trees.”The Saugus River Watershed Council along with the Saugus Action Volunteers for the Environment, the Saugus Garden Club and the Saugus Clergy Association sponsored the event, with each group in charge of its own project, including a swap table, where people could exchange used items with others, garden improvement projects and a sneaker recycling table.?SAVE had a swap table where people could bring gently used household items to swap,” said LeBlanc. “The underlying theme was to keep things out of landfills.”LeBlanc said volunteers also cleaned areas outside of Breakheart, including a stretch of Eastern Avenue which LeBlanc said is notorious for illegal dumping.?People pulled out TVs and other large items that had been illegally dumped,” said LeBlanc. “Overall it was a great day. The weather was beautiful.”Selectman Debra Panetta is co-president of the SRWC and said the cleanup Saturday was one of many events going on in Saugus that day.?It was such a busy day,” said Panetta. “We had the parade, then after the parade we had the cleanup, and then after the cleanup we had the celebration for opening day and then after that the Garden Club had their show. It was a quite a Saugus day on Saturday.”Panetta, who helped clean the area around the back deck of the visitor center, said the cleanup was a huge success.?I was there with my daughter Sabrina so she helped me as well,” said Panetta. “As soon as I got there I said, ?Give me the broom, give me the rake,? you just want to dig in and help, and I think that?s the way everybody felt.”Panetta said some people even joined in the cleanup who were there just to enjoy their day at Breakheart.?We?re very fortunate to have Breakheart within our community and it?s just a gem of a place to go,” said Panetta. “It?s wonderful to be able to just enjoy such a beautiful park.”After the cleanup, LeBlanc said Friends of Breakheart provided lunch for the volunteers.Saturday?s cleanup in Breakheart was the second such event in as many weeks in Saugus. The weekend before, more than 100 volunteers fanned out around Saugus for a full, town-wide cleanup.LeBlanc said Saturday was a part of the state-sponsored Park Serve Day, which she said helps get area parks and beaches ready for summer, and is held in conjunction with Earth Day.?It was a great event, and I think it was fabulous that the state coordinates it because they have trucks and staff and equipment so with their supplies and our volunteers it all worked out great,” said LeBlanc.This was the first time such a large group spent their Park Serve Day at Breakheart, said LeBlanc.?In past years we were always at Lynn Woods for the cleanup,” said LeBlanc. “That had grown so much so we decided to focus on another area where maybe there isn?t this big of a group working. I think a lot of the people who came really enjoy their parks and their open spaces. When you think about Earth Day, it was a great way for us to get out and make a difference in those areas that they enjoy all year round.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].