According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Journal,
approximately 20 million Americans participated in the first Earth Day, a day
of peaceful demonstrations to promote environmental reform, held on April
22, 1970.

This year, the City of Sandy and SOLVE will hold a cleanup event on Saturday,
April 23, hoping to make a difference for the local environment. Carol Cohen,
the city’s Event Coordinator, has a target of 100 people participating.
“It’s a great community event,” Cohen said, noting that last year the event
brought out 50 volunteers, while it was not held in 2020 due to the pandemic.

“I think people are ready to give back to the community. It just makes people
feel really good.”

The event will be held between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. and feature trash clean up
and invasive species removal at parks, trails and other public places. Cohen
noted there are a variety of different sites (such as Meinig Park, Tickle Creek
and the downtown corridor) that volunteers can choose from based on the
time they have available.

“If you want to do the main street corridor, that might take 45 minutes to an
hour,” she said.

Volunteers of all ages are welcome, but Cohen noted that they should be
prepared for working in any kind of weather and bring closed-toed shoes and
warm clothing. Bags, grabbers and other equipment will be provided
(although it is helpful if volunteers can bring their own gloves, if possible).
Volunteers are encouraged to register prior to the event at

https://www.solveoregon.org, but they can also register the day of.