KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Kzoo Parks is encouraging residents to celebrate Earth Day this year by joining a community effort to clean up Kalamazoo’s city parks.
Community members can volunteer this Thursday to help pick up litter, according to a news release Monday.
This volunteer activity will be contactless and self-paced, allowing residents to participate anytime on Earth Day that fits their schedule.
Clean-up activities will be focused in Milham Park, Spring Valley Park, Blanche Hull Park and LaCrone Park.
Residents will be able to grab a garbage bag at the entrances of any of the participating parks, fill it up with as much litter as they would like and then leave the bags near a garbage can in the park for parks staff to pick up afterward.
If helping out at another park, participants should pick up and deposit litter in that park’s garbage cans.
Volunteers may take and share before and after photos or photos of their full garbage bags using the hashtag #KzooParksEarthDayCleanUp on social media.
Participants should still social distance, wear masks, frequently wash or sanitize their hands, cover coughs and sneezes and stay home if feeling sick or being exposed to someone with COVID-19.
“We can celebrate and protect our planet, our parks and our public spaces every day,” said Sean Fletcher, parks & recreation director for the City of Kalamazoo, “but Earth Day is a great opportunity for our community to come together and make a difference. I hope that our community will join the Kzoo Parks team and I and pitch in.”
