1st Annual Exeter Earth Day Riverside Clean Up 2023
Join us in a riverside clean up on Earth Day - Saturday April 22nd! We'll work together to remove trash and debris to clean up the riverside and prevent trash from harming our beautiful waterway.
Meet behind the shop - 121 Water Street, downstairs/riverside at 9am. Bring your friends, your kids, or come on your own. We'll split up into groups to work different areas of the riverside downtown. Our dream goal is to clean the riverside from behind the shop, all the way to the Newfields Rd. end of Swasey Parkway! What we actually clean will depend on how many people show up, so tell everyone - share this link, share our social media posts, or tell them in person.
We'll clean up the riverside until around noon, and then you're welcomed back to the shop for tea and cookies.
If you can't make it at 9am, come to the shop anytime before 5pm! I'll give you a bag and let you know what area(s) weren't already cleaned. If you can come at 9am but only stay for a short time, still come! If you have limited physical ability, let me know so I can assign you to a more easily accessible spot. If you can't make it at all, clean up another spot when you can, and tag us in the pics!
Please help us spread the word! The PDF for the flyer with a QR code that links to this info page can be found here: Riverside Cleanup 2023. Please share and/or print and hang it to spread the word!
This info is subject to change, so check back again for any updates.
Rain date - Saturday 04/29/23
What to Wear:
- layered clothes that you don't mind getting dirty
- close-toed comfortable outdoor shoes
What to Bring (if you can):
- washable gloves to protect your hands
- water and snacks for yourself
- grabbers, pokers, or any other tools to help reach trash
- hand sanitizer
- anything else you'll need for a few hours outside
- friends and family
What We'll Supply:
- trash bags (thank you Exeter DPW!)
- disposable nitrile gloves
- limited tools to help pick up trash (we're looking for donations and/or offers to borrow grabbers and trash sticks! please reach out if you can help)
- tea & cookies when we're done
What to Expect:
- meet behind 121 Water Street at 9am (park in the Stewart Park lot, or other town lot and walk over)
- Lisa will assign groups to different parts of the riverside - we'll start behind the shop and spread out depending on how many volunteers show up
- you may be walking 1-2 miles total, plus bending and reaching (tell Lisa if you need to be accommodated in any way)
- we'll clean for 2-3 hours (less or more is up to you!) and meet back at Alchemy & Herbs for tea and cookies around noon
General Guidelines:
- safety first, always!
- don't pick up potentially dangerous items
- don't hop the fence, or step anywhere where you could potentially fall into the river
- don't open any sealed bottles/cans/containers
- contact Lisa (you'll get a number to text when you show up) if you come across dangerous items, and/or items you can't remove (like that orange cone that's in the river) so she can flag them for the DPW
See you Saturday - Happy Earth Day!
PS Plea to Smokers: cigarette filters look like cotton, but they're really made from cellulose acetate - essentially plastic fibers. They will technically decompose, but it will take anywhere from 4 months to 10 years (yes, that's a huge difference, but the internet is a wild place, and I think the range has to do with brand and conditions). Even if we take the best case scenario of 4 months, think of how many cigarettes you smoke in 4 months. Think of where you were 4 months ago (mid-December) and think of how many cigarettes you've smoked since then. If you throw them on the ground, all of those cigarettes from December *at least* are still on the ground. Or in the river. Or inside some unsuspecting creature. Instead of throwing cigarette butts on the ground, please consider stubbing them completely and throwing them in the closest trashcan, or get a portable ashtray. You can even reuse an old mint or gum tin. If there is just one eco-friendly change you want to make this year, make the change to stop leaving your cigarette butts on the ground.