SCARBOROUGH — Tea kettles. Propane tanks. License plates. Tire rims. A shoe.

On April 25, over 60 volunteers spent their Saturday morning giving back to the community at the Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center’s yearly spring cleanup. For over 40 years, volunteers donning bright orange vests, plastic gloves and waterproof boots have been cleaning up the Scarborough Marsh, collecting mounds of trash and coming across some curious discarded objects.

Bill Dunn, a resident who began volunteering at the cleanup in the 1980s, found a sofa floating around the marsh about 10 years ago.

Dunn likes the cleanup event because he gets to canoe for free and see the wildlife whose habitat he is helping protect. Sometimes, harbor seals follow him around.

The cleanup is a rite of passage for Scarborough residents, according to Linda Woodward, who was the director of the Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center for 35 years. It means spring is finally here.

“We’re taking care of the marsh, and we’re taking care of the people of Scarborough,” Woodward said.

A few years ago, the center began doing a cleanup in the fall too, as a lot of trash accumulates during the summer, she said. She’s noticed that recently more people have begun to pick up trash when they’re walking.

The Scarborough Land Trust, which sponsored the cleanup event, hosts its own annual spring cleanup day on May 2, Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center staff members told the volunteers on Saturday.

By 9:15 a.m., over 60 people gathered at the center, arming themselves with trash grabbers and sunscreen, before splitting into groups to collect trash at different locations including Route 1, Pine Point Road and the Eastern Trail.

The 15 volunteers who chose to brave Route 1 split up into two groups. One started near Anjon’s Ristorante and moved north, and the other moved south from Tractor Supply Co. so they could meet in the middle.

Vivian Howe — who has been cleaning up the marsh for at least 20 years (it’s been so long that she’s lost track) — led the group at Anjon’s.

“It always makes me feel like we’ve accomplished something, but then in a week, there’ll be more,” Howe said.

A tent. Posters. Styrofoam packing chips. A “private property” sign.

In the other group, volunteer Ed Presby had already filled up one trash bag after just 30 minutes. He left the full bag on the side of the road for members of the Scarborough Public Works Department to pick up.

For many years, he’s driven past the volunteers cleaning up Route 1, thinking that he should join. This year, he finally did, and he already knows he’ll be doing it next year.

“You don’t see it when you’re driving really fast, and now all of a sudden, it’s like ‘wow!’” Presby said, shocked at the amount of trash along the road and in the marsh.

Next to him, volunteer Scott Wogciechowski picked up a tooth pick and a plastic candy wrapper with his trash grabber. He said he’s also been cleaning up the road where he lives.

Occasionally, car and truck drivers honked to show their appreciation. Some yelled “Thank you!” from a car.

No one seemed to have more fun than a group of volunteers from Orthopaedic Associates of Maine. They frequently participate in environmental activities like recycling, planting vegetables and volunteering to give back to the community. Jumping across water and trudging through the mud, they went deep into the marsh to pick up the trash that seemed impossible to reach, joking and laughing with every step.

A red solo cup. Plastic water bottles. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of cigarette butts. A frisbee.

Around 11 a.m., the two groups finally joined up in the middle. While they waited to safely cross to the other side and pick up the trash there, volunteers debated about the best find of the day — it was either a small anchor or a pack of Pokemon cards.

Half an hour later, a new winner was declared. After struggling in the mud, two volunteers dug out an oyster cage filled with oysters.

“Who’s hungry?” a volunteer joked.

Occasionally, the groups put down their bags and trash grabbers to watch the wildlife. That’s who they were doing this for.

A snowy egret flew above the freshly cleaned marsh. In the distance, a pair of ducks swam lazily along the gentle curve of the marsh.

After three hours, 22 trash bags lined the sides of Route 1.