The South Portland Land Trust will celebrate Earth Day and Earth Week this month with some help from fellow community organizations and businesses along the way.
South Portland Land Trust’s annual Earth Day Clean Up is a popular event for families, organizers say. File photo
The annual Earth Day Clean Up, well attended for more than 30 years, will begin with a 9:30 a.m. check-in April 21 at Mill Creek Park. Volunteers will team up to tend to places in the city the land trust has identified as needing some care.
“It’s an easy way to get out and make some of these public spaces a little cleaner,” board President Alex Redfield said this week.
That same day, at 11 a.m., the land trust will co-host an event with the Portland Millennials, a meetup group that takes part in community projects. All are welcome.
“They’re doing a work day at the South Branch Trail on the west end of the city to do some trail maintenance and also cleanup work,” Redfield said.
At 1 p.m., the land trust is partnering with 207 Realty to help rid the Trout Brook Nature Preserve of invasive bittersweet and other imperiling species. Participants, who should wear boots and have work gloves, will meet at the Providence Avenue entrance to the trail.
“That little forest is being overrun with a couple of invasive species that are really threatening some of the mature standing trees there,” Redfield said. “It’s a constant effort and this is a nice way to learn how to steward some of those challenged wooded areas.”
Meanwhile, Two Fat Cats Bakery on Broadway will donate a percentage of its April 20-21 sales to the land trust.
“They reached out offering to donate a portion of their sales to the land trust to support some of these community space cleanup projects that we do all year long,” Redfield said. “We’re super excited about that.”
Keeping the momentum going, an April 27 Earth Week event starts at the South Portland Public Library. Cultivating Well-Being Through Therapeutic Horticulture will lead a wild willow nesting ball workshop, followed by a trip to explore Trout Brook Preserve. Participants can hang their nesting balls at the preserve or take them home if they choose.
Dana Bettez, the land trust’s membership and engagement manager, is appreciative of the partnerships with other groups in the community.
“We are so excited to partner with a number of local groups to celebrate Earth Day with projects across the city,” Bettez said in a press release. “Our annual cleanup is always a popular event and, over the past couple years, we have been fortunate to have community groups reach out to see how they can support us and help care for South Portland’s green spaces and trails.”
Redfield said the widespread support is great, but not surprising.
“We’re always feeling good about the momentum South Portland has around Earth Day,” Redfield said. “There’s always a lot of interest around this time of year and we’re excited to help businesses, community organizations and even just neighbors get out and take the initiative of protecting the spaces that are important to them.”
Pre-registration is encouraged for all of the land trust’s Earth Day events. For more information and to register, go to southportlandlandtrust.org/upcoming-events.
Registration for Portland Millennials-sponsored event is required. To register, go to the group’s webpage, meetup.com/portland-millennials.
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