Are you ready for Earth Day?

St. Paul is.

The city’s parks and public works departments and local organizations are gearing up to host the 38th annual Citywide Spring Cleanup on Saturday, April 20 — Earth Day. It’s a chance for volunteers to clean up litter in parks and neighborhood streets.

“It’s turned into a St. Paul tradition,” says Andy Rodriguez, director of St. Paul Parks and Recreation.

Something is different this year, though:

Typically, we see litter emerge as the snow recedes in the spring. But, after the warmest meteorological winter on record, there hasn’t been much (or any) snow to recede

The litter, though? That’s a constant.

“If anything, it’s more noticeable this year,” Rodriguez says.

Good thing the cleanup, held rain or shine, is a popular event: Tricia Wehrle with her team at Parks and Rec usually coordinate more than 1,000 volunteers for the big day, from Scouting troops to neighbors of the city’s parks.

“We picked up 1,500 bags of trash last year,” Wehrle says. “There was over a ton of trash just at one park specifically. It’s a lot.”

Want to volunteer? Here’s how it works:

No pre-registration is necessary.
Find site locations and more at stpaul.gov — search for “citywide cleanup.” The cleanup page links to the Facebook event (“Earth Day City Wide Cleanup“). By selecting “going,” you’ll receive updates; you can also help St. Paul spread the word by sharing the event.
On Earth Day, stop by one of the kickoff sites anytime between 9 and 11:30 a.m. April 20 to check in and pick up bags and gloves. Then head out to collect litter at a park or neighborhood of choice.
Full bags of litter can be deposited in or next to any park garbage can. You can also drop full bags at one of the many drop-sites around the city (by noon April 20).

Street sweeping

Another spring cleanup is scheduled to start next week, too:

St. Paul Public Works will begin its annual spring residential street sweeping operations on Tuesday, April 16.

“City crews will sweep approximately 530 miles of residential streets throughout Saint Paul,” the city noted in a press release sent out Friday. “Public Works will then sweep more than 2,000 alleys in Saint Paul. Street sweeping operations are expected to take approximately six weeks, weather permitting.”

A dedicated volunteer

“Celebrate Earth Day at the 38th annual Citywide Spring Cleanup!” by Kathy Sidles, honorable mention. (Courtesy of Kathy Sidles)

Kathy Sidles, a park volunteer in St. Paul, found a creative way to highlight the litter she picks up on local trails and natural areas in the city: She incorporated some of the items into a diorama for the annual Pioneer Press Peeps Diorama Contest, winning an honorable mention last month.

In her diorama, the Peeps are carrying trash bags (made of paper) as they pick up litter (including old pennies) in the parkland depicted in photos that Sidles took.

“There really will be this many volunteers in Saint Paul Parks!” Sidles wrote.

Probably even more!

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