On the morning of March 31, eight volunteers ranging from 5 to 75 years got together to clean up the conservation area behind Bridge Elementary School. We had contractor-sized trash bags, gloves and trash-picking sticks, provided by Lexington Department of Public Works (DPW). And we all found a lot of trash!

Thankfully, most of the trash was what one would expect to find around a school: candy, chip wrappers and lots of Ziplock bags, though a few oddballs (golf balls!) were found too. After filling up five large bags, the team celebrated by getting some hot chai and delicious food in Lexington Center. 

Everyone enjoyed themselves and we all felt good that we had removed a large source of harmful microplastics from the watershed of Vine Brook. Now if young children go out for Big Backyard, the place will be clean and natural. As the 5-year-old volunteer concurred, “the squirrels and the birds are happy!” 

The Lex clean-up crew!

Nanu, Samar, Ravneet, Mamata, Romal, Upasna, Deepika, and Birender

(If we all pick up just 1-2 pieces of trash from our roads, yards and green spaces in the coming weeks, Lexington will look its best for the 250th anniversary!)

Photo of the Lex clean-up crew by Deepika Sawhney

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3 Comments

  1. Thank you for this awesome initiative! Cleaning UP our town can be our new passion even beyond Lex250 celebrations!! Let’s start this new adventure and bring the entire community together! Thank you, Deepika!

  2. I regularly pick up trash around Bridge School on my daily walk, and I’m thrilled to get this wonderful help!

  3. Thanks to those cleaning up these spaces. Unfortunately many home owners have already set their filled yard waste bags along the street which will not be picked up until the third week of April. Could that pick up be made, instead to start the first week of April in the future.

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