It began as simply a way to celebrate International Earth Day, a way to become ecologically and environmentally conscious.
Five years later, it has evolved into an annual event, one that exhibits civic pride and displays community camaraderie.
The Weehawken Environmental Committee is sponsoring its annual “Clean Up Weehawken” Day on Saturday, March 31, between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. The volunteer group will hit a few needy sites around Weehawken that need to have some spring cleaning and attention.
According to organizer Maggie Raywood, the annual event tends to bring out the best in Weehawken.
“It’s always a fun day,” said Raywood, who is also the treasurer for the WEC. “It’s a group of people who take a lot of pride in Weehawken and show their concern to make Weehawken a better place to live. I think it goes a long way and says a lot about the way people feel about the town.”
The group will meet at Louisa Park at 8:45 a.m. and will be greeted with coffee, juice and donuts, to fuel the volunteers up for the worthy cause. The group will then look for areas in need of some sprucing, especially the hard-to-reach areas (such as the Palisades, Hackensack Plank Road, Pershing Road, etc.) where thoughtless people tend to simply dump massive things like construction debris, old tires and other assorted forms of pollution.
“That’s the most disheartening thing, finding all these things that were simply dumped over the cliffs,” Raywood said. “People that simply don’t want to hire a Dumpster, so they think they can just toss it wherever they please. That is infuriating, that out-of-sight, out-of-mind mentality. But the garbage doesn’t go away.”
Sarah Crew, the president of the WEC, agrees.
“It makes you wonder, ‘Why do these people throw things there?'” Crew said. “It’s terrible that we find these things, but it’s a wonderful event that we get together and try to make the town a better place. It’s a way of establishing community, a rapport with your neighbors, some of whom you might have never met before. It’s a worthwhile event, but it’s a social thing as well.”
Added Raywood, “I’ve met new people every year that we’ve done this. I’ve met people that haven’t been my immediate neighbors, but they came out and they were willing to contribute. Some have been brand new to the community, heard about the day and wanted to join in.”
Last year, approximately 40 residents braved the elements – cold and wind and threatening skies – to participate in the project. Raywood is hoping for better weather conditions this year, which will lead to a bigger turnout. “We’re hoping for good weather this year, so that we have more people come out,” Raywood said. “We’re asking any interested people to show up and lend a hand. We’re supplying the gloves. We just ask that people dress warmly and dress accordingly, with everything covered, just in case of poison ivy.”
Raywood said that the people who show up to participate always encourage her.
“We get people of all ages, from teens to senior citizens,” Raywood said. “There’s always something that can be done by every age group. The seniors are always very inspiring to me, to see the elderly come out and participate.”
Mayor Richard Turner is also very inspired by the participation of his constituents.
“This is a day to specifically clean up areas that we simply cannot get to,” Turner said. “Getting a group of dedicated volunteers, who love the town, and having them clean certain areas is a great boost to the morale of the town. It’s a good time to focus on cleaning. It shouldn’t be just one day. But a day like this gets the message out.”
Turner said that he gets all of the township’s municipal departments, like the Department of Public Works and the Department of Parks, to lend a hand with the day’s festivities.
Both Raywood and Crew know that just having one day to clean up the town isn’t enough – but it’s not a bad start.
“It needs to have constant attention,” Raywood said. “When you get a commitment like this from volunteers, you don’t want to see anyone ruin the good that you’ve done.”
“This has to be more than just a single symbolic gesture,” Crew said. “We have to put a little more muscle behind it. Signs that say, ‘No littering.’ It has to be more of an effort than once a year. It’s a good day, but it doesn’t go far enough.”
Still, it’s a feel-good day.
“You come home dirty and exhausted and you feel great, because you did something good,” Crew said.
“We started it as a tribute to Earth Day,” Raywood said. “Think of it as Earth Month. It’s springtime, so it’s time to spruce up and clean up the town. A little spring cleaning would never hurt anyone.”
In case of rain, the event will be postponed until Sunday, April 1. No fooling. These people are very serious and very proud of their hometown.
“It is about pride,” Raywood said. “And we have a lot of pride.”