LYNN – The City Park Clean Up Program is now in its eighth season picking up litter throughout the city and just wrapped up its spring season.
What began as a pilot program in November 2021 to create opportunities for high school students and other organizations to do volunteer work in Lynn has grown into a consistently scheduled volunteer program with 10 events in the spring and another 10 in the fall on Saturday mornings from 9-11 a.m. The City provides all necessary equipment and materials – like trash bags, gloves and pickers – for these events.
“My kids needed to do volunteer work for different scholar programs in school, and I was looking at the list, and there was only one thing to do in Lynn: make peanut butter sandwiches for My Brother’s Table,” Councilor Brian Field said. “And not that that’s not an important thing, but it was the only thing listed on their volunteer list. Everything else was out of the city.
“There is so much need here in Lynn that you don’t need to go to Swampscott or Salem or Peabody. There’s plenty of opportunity here in Lynn, that’s what created this, so if you need hours come down.”
According to Field, all seven ward councilors are to choose an area each season for one of the Saturday events. The remaining three events are chosen and scheduled by Field and Councilor Dianna Chakoutis, as this duo created the program and are co-chairs of the Lynn Trash/Litter Subcommittee.
“Some volunteers attend almost every Saturday, and some are first time volunteers. Everyone shares a commitment to want our city to be the best it can and know that many hands make light work,” Field said. “Two hours a week may not seem like a lot but when you multiply that by the number of volunteers, many of these park cleanups carry over into the neighborhoods too.”
This past Saturday, despite the gray sky and faint drizzle throughout the morning, City Councilors Brian Field and Natasha Megie-Maddrey joined a handful of Department of Public Works (DPW) employees and volunteers in cleaning up the portion of Northern Strand Trail between Spencer Street and Cottage Street.
That area, which was the intended location for Saturday’s clean up project, was litter-free within an hour, so the group decided to continue on with their trash pickers and large, yellow trash bags. The group continued on, crossing Spencer Street toward Western Avenue. Volunteers even crossed Western Avenue near the Excel Dental building, continuing to pick up litter until the two-hour time period came to an end.
The group picked up enough trash to fill 20 bags, which were put in the back of a City of Lynn truck and later disposed of.
Field emphasized the importance of community members utilizing the trash barrels throughout park areas rather than opting to litter.
“If (community members) live here, they’re visiting here, just use the barrels. We’ll come down. We’ll clean up what’s on the ground. Hopefully, it stays that way for a little while, but we’re leading by example. The last thing we want to be doing every Saturday morning from 9-11 a.m. is picking up other people’s trash, right? It’s making a difference and leading by example. We’re supposed to be doing that as city councilors: lead by example and let them know that we care and we want you to care,” Field said.
These Saturday clean up events will return in September as there are volunteers working Monday-Friday during the summer months to maintain and clean the parks, according to Field.
“It is definitely making a noticeable difference in the appearance of the parks, but we know there is still more work to do,” Field said.
