Yearly Princeton Earth Month Cleanup

April is just around the corner, and that means it’s nearly time for Princeton’s fifth annual
town-wide Earth Month cleanup. Organized by the Open Space and Environmental Action
Committees in honor of Earth Day (April 27), the Earth Month cleanup begins April 1, or
whenever the ground is visible, whichever comes first.

The cleanup effort has three components: Roadsides in town; parks and playgrounds; and trails. Residents who would like to sign up for a section of road or trail should email PrincetonEarthMonthCleanup@gmail.com and indicate which sections of which roads/trails they would like to clean. Interested residents can also call or email one of the organizers listed below. Residents are asked to dispose of trash individually, and to email the organizers when they’ve completed their work. Organizers would like to hear from everyone who is cleaning up the roads so that everyone can be acknowledged.

For roadsides, residents choose a section or sections of roads to clean up, and sign up to do the cleanup work by the end of April, on their own schedules. 

Click on a road segment in the map below to check on status. If the road segment is brown, then it has not been assigned yet. A click will tell you who cleaned it last year. A blue line indicates that the segment has been assigned, and green means that it has been cleaned.

For parks and playgrounds, Earth Month organizers will be asking specific groups in town to help out. Any resident or group with a particular interest in cleaning up parks or playgrounds, however, should feel free to contact one of the organizers:

• Sawyer Field, contact Karen Rossow;
• Krashes Field, contact Rick Rys;
• Thomas Prince School, contact Corey Burnham-Howard
• Town Common, contact PrincetonEarthMonthCleanup@GMail.com

For trail clearing and cleanup we are looking for volunteers to pick up trash, clear detritus from the trails, and clip small branches that have grown over the trails. Additional volunteers are on hand if more help, such as chain sawing, is required. Contact the above eMail if you need additional help. Trails include

• Four Corners,
• Bullock/McElroy,
• Russell Corner (formerly Peabody-Metcalf),
• Gregory-Alexander,
• Calamint Hill,
• Boone Trail (new trail from Calamint Hill to Brooks Station Road),
• Poutwater Pond, 
• Red Fox Farm, and
• Goodnow Park.

Please email PrincetonEarthMonthCleanup@gmail.com if you want to sign up for trail work.

As in prior years, to add a little fun to the project, prizes will be given for

• Photos: Most Fun, Most Impressive Haul, and Most Inspiring
• Trash discoveries: Most Interesting and Most Disgusting

Also this year we are very optimistic that we will be able to finally have an end-of-project celebration sometime in May. Please stay tuned.

The health and safety of all volunteers is a priority. Note that all cleanup is done at
participants’ own risk. And please be sure to read the safety sheet for this project!!

Our Map - The goal for April 1 is to turn all of the brown to blue or green!!

Committee Members:

Some of our photos from 2022!!