3rd Annual Exeter Earth Day Riverside Cleanup
Join us for a riverside clean up for Earth Day! We'll work together to remove trash and debris to clean up the riverside and prevent trash from harming our beautiful waterway.
This year, we're holding our riverside cleanup what will likely become the new date going forward - the first Saturday of April (with a rain date on Sunday). This year, the Annual Riverside Cleanup is on Saturday is April 5th at 11am. An earlier annual cleanup gives us the opportunity to capture more trash from the melting snow mounds, before it blows into the river.
On April 5th, meet behind the shop - 121 Water Street, downstairs/riverside at 11am. Bring your friends, your kids, or come on your own. We'll split up into groups to work different areas of the riverside downtown, from behind the shop, all the way to the Newfields Rd. end of Swasey Parkway! It sounds like a big area, but we've tackled it successfully for the last two years.
If we can, we'll even send a group across the river to Clemson Pond - what we actually clean will depend on how many people show up, so tell everyone - share this link, share our social media posts, or tell them in person.
We'll spend an hour or two cleaning up the riverside, then you're all welcomed back to the shop for tea and cookies (from Wishing Well Cookie Co)!
Saturday April 5th is also the Exeter Lit Fest, so stop by some of the Lit Festivities before or after the cleanup! If you can't make the cleanup because you'll be at Lit Fest, but you still want to help, reach out to find out when we'll be doing other cleanups around town during the year.
Please help us spread the word!
This info is subject to change, so check back again for any updates.
Rain date - Sunday 04/06/25
What to Wear:
- close-toed comfortable outdoor shoes
- layered clothes that you don't mind possibly getting dirty (or you can wear regular clothes, just be careful where you step and reach)
What to Bring (if you can):
- washable gloves to protect your hands
- water and snacks for yourself
- grabbers, pokers, or any other tools to help reach trash
- hand sanitizer
- anything else you'll need for a few hours outside
- friends and family
What We'll Supply:
- trash bags
- disposable nitrile gloves
- limited tools to help pick up trash (we're looking for donations and/or offers to borrow grabbers and trash sticks! please reach out if you can help)
- tea & cookies when we're done
What to Expect:
- meet behind 121 Water Street at 11am (park in the Stewart Park lot, or other town lot and walk over)
- Lisa will assign groups to different parts of the riverside - we'll start behind the shop and spread out depending on how many volunteers show up
- you may be walking 1-2 miles total, plus bending and reaching (tell Lisa if you need to be accommodated in any way)
- we'll clean for 1-2 hours (less or more is up to you!) and meet back at Alchemy & Herbs for tea and cookies around noon
General Guidelines:
- safety first, always!
- don't pick up potentially dangerous items
- don't hop the fence, or step anywhere where you could potentially fall into the river
- don't open any sealed bottles/cans/containers!
- contact Lisa (you'll get a number to text when you show up) if you come across dangerous items, and/or items you can't remove (like that orange cone that's in the river) so she can flag them for the DPW
See you Saturday 04/05/25 - Happy (early) Earth Day!
PS Plea to Smokers: cigarette filters look like cotton, but they're really made from cellulose acetate - essentially plastic fibers. They will technically decompose, but it will take anywhere from 4 months to 10 years (yes, that's a huge difference, but the internet is a wild place, and I think the range has to do with brand and conditions). Even if we take the best case scenario of 4 months, think of how many cigarettes you smoke in 4 months. Think of where you were 4 months ago (mid-December) and think of how many cigarettes you've smoked since then. If you throw them on the ground, all of those cigarettes from December *at least* are still on the ground. Or in the river. Or inside some unsuspecting creature. Instead of throwing cigarette butts on the ground, please consider stubbing them completely and throwing them in the closest trashcan, or get a portable ashtray. You can even reuse an old mint or gum tin. If there is just one eco-friendly change you want to make this year, make the change to stop leaving your cigarette butts on the ground.