Earth Day is April 22. The day was established in 1970 through a grassroots (pardon the pun) effort to educate and celebrate the importance of the environment. Over the decades, the world has become even more aware of the need to take care of our world. One of the most meaningful ways to help the environment is by combatting litter and debris in our neighborhoods.
On April 21, many east side neighborhoods will be abuzz with cleanup activities as Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, the city, and neighborhood organizers work to pick up litter. The other benefit to participating in the clean-up is you get to meet neighbors for a common purpose.
Most organized clean-ups will have trash bags, gloves and other equipment available at the gathering site. Below are just some of the events slated for the weekend.
• Irvington will hold several neighborhood cleanups beginning at 8 a.m. For the Butler/Hawthorne area, gather at the dumpster near 5203 Julian Ave. at 9 a.m. Residents will focus on curbs and alleys. Volunteers for East Washington between Ritter and Bolton, meet at 8 a.m. in the Irvington Library parking lot on the corner of East Washington St. and Audubon.
• Warren Clean Up, usually one of the largest clean-up efforts on the east side, will start at 7:30 a.m. at Warren Central High School, just off 16th St. past Post Rd. Almost 300 volunteers will be out so far, but more will be needed to cover the large area. E-mail warrencentralptsa@yahoo.com if you would like to volunteer.
•Otterbein Neighborhood clean up begins 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Meet at the Marian Academy, 2107 N. Riley Ave. to sign in, meet your neighbors, and help out. Contact organizers Jose Garcia at otterbeinna@gmail.com or call 317-777-0606. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
• There will be a tree planting in the Herron-Morton neighborhood April 21 from 9 a.m.-noon. Volunteers may still be needed. Meet at 2347 Broadway Ave.
• KIB and volunteers will be planting 20 large trees along Kitley Ave. April 21 beginning at 9 a.m. as part of the Warren Park Community Neighbors planting project.
• KIB will also be working with Cottage Home neighbors in efforts to restore natural habitat by removing invasive plants along the Urban Temple Greenspace. The volunteers will meet at 504 Dorman St. at 9 a.m.
Head downtown to the 2018 Earth Day Indiana Festival from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at Military Park. The theme is “Bee Green” and many vendors will focus on pollinators, composting, and sustainability. The event is free.
On April 22, the Jewish Community Center will host its 7th Annual Earth Day Community Celebration from noon-4 p.m. Admission is free but donations are accepted. Visitors can help build a geodesic dome, tour tiny houses, and more than 70 organizations will be participating, each with a hands-on, earth-friendly activity. The JCC is located at 6701 Hoover Rd,
On the weekend of April 28, southeast neighborhoods will have their own clean-up days, plus tree plantings. The Spring Great Indy Cleanup Focus Neighborhood will be in the South Indy Quality of Life Plan’s neighborhoods — Bean Creek, Carson Heights, Garfield Park, Meridian-Raymond, Northwest Perry, Rosedale Hills, South Village and University Heights. The meeting location will be in front of Brightwood College at Southern Plaza, 4200 S. East St. After check-in and kickoff, KIB will provide transportation to the project sites. Registration is full for the event.
