SAUGUS — The town welcomes volunteers to celebrate Earth Day Saturday, April 23 by joining the Saugus River Watershed Council and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation for a cleanup project at Marshview Park along the Saugus River in Lynn.
The event is being held in conjunction with the commonwealth’s Park Serve Day, which gives residents a chance to help clean and prepare state parks and beaches for the summer recreation season.
The event hours are 9:30 a.m. to noon.
“Marshview Park acts as an important gateway between Lynn and Saugus and provides beautiful views of the Saugus River,” said Mary Lester, executive director of the Saugus River Watershed Council.
She said Saturday’s cleanup is a great way to celebrate Earth Day by making a difference at the local level.
“We normally have between 25 and 40 people,” she said, adding the cleanup is an annual event that was suspended during the pandemic.
Volunteers will work together to remove trash from the park and the surrounding areas abutting the Saugus River. They will also help out with some general landscaping maintenance.
“The landscaping maintenance includes cutting the bushes and adding mulch and flowers,” said Lester.
Everyone is welcome, said Lester, with no RSVP required. Gloves, bags, and water will be provided.
“Students looking for community-service hours are encouraged to help out,” she said.
Lester said the cleanup is focused on an area where trash accumulates without the benefit of regular maintenance. and it is not well maintained.
“We’ve picked up thousands of nip bottles,” said Lester.
Marshview Park is located adjacent to the Saugus River on Boston Street in Lynn, directly across the street from (the former) O’Briens in Lynn and across the river from the K Pub Restaurant on Lincoln Avenue in Saugus.
The Saugus River Watershed Council’s website states that its 675 members and hundreds of volunteers are working together to improve water quality, restore river habitat and fisheries, as well as to educate students about the environment, and promote public access and enjoyment of the watershed.
It was founded in 1991 to restore the natural resources of the Saugus River watershed. The headwaters of the Saugus River are formed by Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield. The river meanders through Wakefield, Saugus, and Lynn before emptying into the Rumney Marsh and Pines River estuary.
The Saugus River tributaries include the Mill River in Wakefield, Shute Brook in Saugus, Strawberry Brook in Lynn, and Town Line Brook in Revere, Malden, and Everett. The watershed to some extent encompasses the following 11 communities: Everett, Lynn, Lynnfield, Malden, Melrose, Peabody, Reading, Revere, Saugus, Stoneham, and Wakefield.
