Hundreds of volunteers tidy Spicket River

By Zoe Mathews

zmathews@eagletribune.com

LAWRENCE — Spicket River Cleanup organizers said it took multiple bus trips to get all 550 volunteers to different spots along the river Saturday for Groundwork Lawrence’s 16th annual cleanup.

The event is Groundwork Lawrence’s second largest city-wide cleanup next to their Comcast Cares Earth Day event.

“It’s amazing to see,” said Heather McMann, Executive Director for Groundwork Lawrence. “Registration starts at 8 a.m., and we’ve got kids and young adults showing up at 7:30, excited to get out there and clean up their city.”

Most of the volunteers were students from Lawrence schools. At Immigrant Place Park, Wetherbee students combed the riverbank with gloves and trash bags, pulling “I think we know what people think, they think teenagers: lazy. These kids are out there working hard, it’s a real commitment and it’s amazing to come out not just in their community, but to do it together.”

The volunteers spread out across various parks along the Spicket River Greenway, an “emerald bracelet” of green spaces and walking paths that opened in 2013 after years of grassroots, state and federal collaboration.

“It’s all about momentum now,” said McMann. “We’re starting to think about transitioning from an annual cleanup to a Spicket River Festival,” as a celebration for how far the greenway has come.

Since the annual cleanup began in 2002, thousands of residents cleared literally tons of debris and thousands of tires from the riverbanks.

Marianny Felix, 12, far left, Ayendaliz Garcia, 12, and Dalbin Villa, 13, students from the Wetherbee School, clear trash at Immigrant Place during the 16th annual Spicket River clean-up in Lawrence on Saturday.

AMANDA SABGA/ Staff photo