33rd Annual Mill Creek MetroParks Earth Day Cleanup

More than 350 scouts and volunteers are expected to scour Mill Creek MetroParks in recognition of Earth Day to remove winter buildup of litter and debris. This year, 25 locations throughout the MetroParks will be visited by 22 different Cub Scout Packs, Boy Scout Troops, and Girl Scout Troops. Groups will be coming from Austintown, Boardman, Canfield, New Middletown, North Jackson, Poland, Struthers, and Youngstown. The cleanup is co-sponsored by the Whispering Pines District of the Greater Western Reserve Council, B.S.A. and Mill Creek MetroParks.

The cleanup takes place on Saturday, April 25, 2015, throughout Mill Creek MetroParks. Coordinators will stop by the Ford Nature Education Center (840 Old Furnace Road, Youngstown, OH 44511) to pick up supplies before 9 a.m. and then meet with their groups at various locations and work until noon. This cleanup takes place rain or shine.

In 32 years, more than 10,700 participants have volunteered more than 33,400 hours to clean various areas of the MetroParks. Just in the past 13 years, more than 2,000 bags of trash and 900 bags of recyclables along with numerous loose items such as tires, toys, furniture, pipes, wood crates, electronic items, and even the proverbial kitchen sink, have been removed.  Last year, there were fewer bags of trash but more bags of recyclables.

As in years past, sponsorship of this event is in cooperation with the Recycling Division of the Mahoning County Green Team. They will be providing these hardworking volunteers with garbage and recycling bags, gloves, and grab-its, as well as pencils, certificates, and car litter bags for each participant.

This event is also in conjunction with the Keep America Beautiful Great American Cleanup, and America’s leading companies and brands support the campaign. The Great American Cleanup is proud to have the following national sponsors for the 2015 Great American Cleanup: Lowe’s, Altria Group, Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola Recycling, Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Unilever and Waste Management.

The MetroParks hosts the event by facilitating the organization and registration of groups, sites and supplies. Rural Metro Ambulance will be onsite in case of an emergency.

Areas within this cleanup include Mill Creek Park and Mill Creek MetroParks Regional Facilities Yellow Creek Park, Mill Creek Preserve, Vickers Nature Preserve, MetroParks Farm, and the MetroParks Bikeway.

For more information about this year’s cleanup or to have your group, organization, church, school, family or individuals come out and lend a hand, call the Ford Nature Education Center at 330.740.7107 or Mike Kupec, Mill Creek MetroParks Earth Day Cleanup Chairman for the Boy Scouts at 330.799.1475.