Description

Charlton Celebrates Earth Day on April 27th

Charlton residents are invited to help clean up the Town for Earth Day 2024. The roads are strewn with trash, so show your appreciation for the planet by cleaning up a mile (or 2!) on Saturday April 27, 2024.

Online registration begins April 1st at https://www.townofcharlton.net/238/Earth-Day-Committee. Sign-up for a road, or portion of a road, or sign up in person the morning of the event. Beginning at 8 am, road volunteers may pick up yellow bags, gloves, safety vests, boxes of water, and pickers on the Town Common. Supplies courtesy of a grant from The Last Green Valley and from donations from The Charlton Recreation Commission, and several Earth Fest Planning Group members. A limited supply of pickers is available, one per family/group. Please reuse pickers from previous years if you have them.

The Earth Day Committee urges volunteers to use caution when picking up roadside trash. Use gloves and wear bright clothing or a safety vest. Never open containers containing unknown substances. If you find needles or syringes, contact the Police for disposal; do not touch or place them in bags with other refuse. Citizens can bring the filled bags to the dumpster, donated by Casella Waste, behind Town Hall.

The Charlton Middle School held its annual design contest focused on this year’s Earth Day theme, Planet vs. Plastics. Sixth-grader Lia Nguyen created the winning tee shirt design (pictured). These tee shirts, which are donated by Millennium Power Company, are available on a first come, first served basis, one per person.

Charlton will continue its Earth Day celebration with Earth Fest, to be held on the Town Common from 11 am to 2 pm. In case of inclement weather, the Fest will be moved inside to Dexter Hall on the second floor of the Charlton Public Library. A variety of vendors will promote environmentally sustainable lifestyle choices and teach ways to help the earth, its animals, and plants.

Vendors include AnnieMike’s Honey, Blessings Farm, the Buffumville Army Corps of Engineers, Capen Hill Nature Sanctuary, Charlton Business Alliance, Charlton Conservation Commission, Charlton Garden Club, Charlton Heritage Preservation Trust, Cornerstone Bank, Eric’s Aviaries, Keep Charlton Beautiful Committee, The Last Green Valley, Local 4 Life, the Opacum Land Trust, Second Chance Mobile Adoption, and the Shepherd Hill Regional High School Envirothon Club.

The Grey Whiskey Pickers and Wormtown Mugwumps, Worcester’s premier purveyors of jug band music, will provide live musical entertainment. The event will also feature several food trucks, including No Coast Kitchen, Timeless Fry & Grill, 3 Kings BBQ, The Toasted Roasters, Suzie Q’s Ice Cream, and more.

Volunteers also have an opportunity to win raffle prizes donated by Treehouse Brewery and Cornerstone Bank.

Thanks to the Charlton Recreation Commission, Cornerstone Bank, Millennium Power, and Ted’s Package Store for sponsoring this year’s event. The Last Green Valley has provided financial support for Charlton’s Earth Day Fest.