Volunteers make clean sweep for Earth DayBy Susan O'Neill Planting flowers in parks and picking up trash, thousands of volunteers gathered yesterday in communities from Boston to Bellingham to celebrate Earth Day. Technically, Earth Day is tomorrow, but about 1,000 volunteers gathered at more than 20 locations for the third annual Charles River Earth Day Cleanup. Pattie Weikert, a Massachusetts Community Water Watch organizer and a member of the Charles River Watershed Association, said the yearly cleanup has seen an increase in the number of participants. “I think Earth Day is becoming more and more popular,” Weikert said. “If people don’t do anything all year, they usually do something for Earth Day to be a part of an environmental program.” Weikert said more than 60 organizations took part in the river cleanup. As part of Earth Day celebrations tomorrow, U.S. Sen. John Kerry and Rep. Martin Meehan, along with members of the Merrimack River Watershed Council, will announce plans at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell to clean up the Merrimack River. During the Charles cleanup, Weikert said items like shopping carts and construction signs were removed. Volunteers are apt to find just about anything discarded along the Charles River’s 67 miles. “We found a message in a bottle from two people who met along the river Oct. 24, 2001 and a roll of film,” Weikert said.
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