Although everyone should pick up trash when they see it every day, Earth Day Cleanup provides an outlet for community members to collaborate and make where they live a cleaner place.

“Cleaning up the earth is something that can be done on a local level,” said Community Service Coordinator Mary Collins. “It’s two hours of time that has an immediate impact and might just make you feel good about helping clean where you live.”

Arranged in a joint effort through the Community Service Club and the Kiwanis Club of Evanston, this event will take place from 9-11 a.m. on April 23. Volunteers will meet by the tent outside of the school on Dodge Ave.

Picking up trash and recyclables in the area around the school will also help build a better relationship between the school and the surrounding area. ““Evanston High School wants to be a good neighbor. We know that a lot of our traffic and all our kids can really contribute to trash in the streets and in the parkways, so having our own students go out and volunteer to beautify the neighborhood makes us a little bit better neighbors,” said Collins.

In addition to food provided by the Kiwanis Club, gloves, maps, and garbage and recycling bags will be supplied as to help volunteers with the cleaning process. Each group of a few volunteers will be assigned different areas surrounding the school in Evanston to clean, and they will walk up and down the streets picking up any garbage or recycling.

Today is Earth Day, which is a worldwide annual event to help protect the environment. In addition to students doing their part to help preserve the planet they call home, winter has also come to a close. “We can see the grass again and all of the trash that was hidden under the snow,” said Collins. It is important to start spring off on the right foot by cleaning away the mess from the winter.

Last year, around 50 people participated in the event, and this year they’re hoping for more. This event is all inclusive, and Collins welcomes all students and anyone else who wants to give back to the environment for a few hours. Volunteers can receive community service hours for this event.

The City of Evanston is also organizing an Earth Day/ Arbor Day Celebration event on April 23 at 9-11 a.m. in different areas of Evanston that the high school cleanup crew cannot reach. Meeting locations are located on the Evanston website.