GREENFIELD — Judy Bennett had always noticed and tried to pick up litter in her neighborhood, but adopting a rescue dog over the summer truly opened her eyes to an issue facing this city.
Walking her new curious, sniffing Shiba Inu showed her just how much trash is strewn around Greenfield.
“You just see it two or three times a day and you’re like, ‘Ew,’” she said.
So Bennett reached out John David Boles, who organizes the annual Green River Cleanup, to ask if a similar event could be planned for locals to beautify the city by disposing of litter. The Green River Cleanup is hosted by the Deerfield River Watershed Association as part of the Connecticut River Conservancy’s Source to Sea Cleanup, a yearly effort along the Connecticut River watershed in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Boles was on board with Bennett’s idea, and the citywide event will be held from Thursday to Sunday.
“We’re probably going to do this every year,” Boles said. “We’ve been wanting to do it for a while.”
Boles explained more than 500 blue trash bags will be handed out to volunteers willing to pick up junk they find. He said all these bags can be placed curbside, where the Greenfield Department of Public Works will collect them — no city trash bag sticker required. Bennett plans to first hand out bags at Greenfield Garden Cinemas before and following a 12:30 p.m. showing of “The Lorax,” a 3D-animated film based off the Dr. Seuss book about the environment’s plight and a character who “speaks for the trees.”
Bennett will also dispense bags and gloves on the Greenfield Common on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon, the same time Boles will do so at Beacon Field. Boles also said the blue bags are available at the Department of Public Works building at 189 Wells St.
“I’d love to see 300 blue bags (curbside) come Sunday, you know,” Boles said.
He said he and a few others already picked up some litter this week on Bascom Road.
Boles said the 18th annual Green River Cleanup is scheduled for Sept. 25. About 600 volunteers collected nearly 67 tons of trash from the Green River in 2019. The event was held last year, with COVID-19 safety measures in place.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.