Saturday, April 21, 2012
9am - 12pm
At sites all along the Charles River and its tributaries

Beaver Country Day students at the 12th Annual Earth Day Charles River Cleanup.

Since 2000, the Charles River Watershed Association has coordinated the Annual Earth Day Charles River Cleanup each April with a collaborative of other non-profit organizations. The Cleanup involves volunteers picking up trash at over 100 different cleanup sites along the Charles River and its tributaries.

In the first year of the project, we had 800 volunteers; last year, at the 12th Annual Cleanup, we had over 3,000 volunteers. Volunteers participated as part of more than 100 different neighborhood, school, religious, and corporate groups, as well as individually. Our volunteers remove trash and debris (including television sets, bicycles, Styrofoam cups, and plastic bags) located in the river and on its banks at 100 sites along the 80-mile river. At last year’s event, we estimate that we removed 50 tons of litter, making the Charles River cleaner, healthier, and more beautiful!  

The Charles River Cleanup is organized by a collaborative of groups interested in keeping the river and our communities clean and healthy, including Charles River Watershed Association, Charles River Conservancy, The Esplanade Association, the City of Newton, Senator Brownsberger’s Office, The Trustees of Reservations, Emerald Necklace Conservancy, and MA Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Each collaborating organization helps coordinate volunteers in a particular region of the watershed. To view a map of volunteer regions, click here.

Sign up now!

If you or a group you are organizing would like to participate in this year's Cleanup,

check this map to determine a convenient region to work in,

and please fill out this Volunteer Interest Form.

Help us spread the word:

Please click here to view a printable flier for the Cleanup event.

We would greatly appreciate your help in printing and posting this flier around your community.

Cleanup organizers & partners

Cleanup Sponsors

Major Sponsors:

Participants

Check back soon for an updated list of Cleanup participants!

2011 Cleanup

Click here to learn more about last year's Cleanup. View a list of volunteer groups and sponsors, and find out how much garbage we collected!