Volunteers fan out to clean up Warwick

By JOHN HOWELL
Posted 4/30/19

By JOHN HOWELL Groups from across the city put on their gloves, armed themselves with rakes and pulled debris from Pawtuxet Park, Avalon Park on Warwick Pond, and along the banks of Buckeye Brook on Saturday. Another army numbering nearly 100 volunteers

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Volunteers fan out to clean up Warwick

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Groups from across the city put on their gloves, armed themselves with rakes and pulled debris from Pawtuxet Park, Avalon Park on Warwick Pond, and along the banks of Buckeye Brook on Saturday.

Another army numbering nearly 100 volunteers fanned out across Oakland Beach on Sunday for an Earth Day clean-up sponsored by Save the Bay. Making up a large portion of the crew was a group from Progressive Insurance from their Johnston, Warwick and Westwood, Massachusetts offices and fraternity brothers from URI.

George Shuster, who with his wife Stephanie and Trent Baton, manned the registration table and weighed the trash deemed Dan Calkin of Warwick “trash pickup person extraordinaire” for collecting 100 pounds of trash. Overall, the volunteers collected 630 pounds of trash, most of it litter including cigarette butts, cans, bottles and cups in less than two hours. Salter Grove Preservation Network have joined with Save the Bay in setting up a weekly Oakland Beach clean-up on Mondays starting May 6 from 9 to 11 a.m. and every Monday at the same time throughout the summer with the exception of Memorial Day. Volunteers are welcome, said Shuster. He reported that Holly Weber of the city “has been terrific” in helping coordinate collections with the Department of Public Works.

The Pawtuxet clean-up coordinated by Save the Bay including members of the Cranston and Warwick Rotary Clubs also tackled a clean-up of Stillhouse Cove in Edgewood. Friends of Warwick Ponds with their president, Phil D’Ercole manning a saw, cleaned up the pond park at the end of Stanmore Road. The brook cleanup coordinated by the Buckeye Brook Coalition rallied Boy Scouts from Pack 1 Warwick, Troop 7 Buttonwoods, Troop 77 Buttonwoods and Troop 1 Warwick as well as eighth graders from St. Kevin School. In addition, there were another 20 volunteers, estimates Paul Earnshaw, vice president of the coalition, for a crew of nearly 100.

It was a larger community effort with the K of C Hall providing space, Cardi Construction providing traffic cones and caution tape to close Old Warwick Avenue and ensure safety and Don’s Pizza and Sandy Lane Meat Market providing food for the crews. Earnshaw was pleased to report that this year’s buckeye run is strong and he has seen the fish spawning in the shallows of Warwick Pond. He called the cleanup a tribute to Earth Day. Coalition president Michael Zarum was encouraged by the number of youthful volunteers, pointing out they are the next generation of stewards for the brook and the environment.

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