EPMA Earth Day Service Project

By Kristin Malyak, EPMA; Designer & Workplace Strategist at Gensler

A handful of chapter members braved the cold, damp weather this past weekend to participate in the 15^th Annual Charles River Cleanup. The group was assigned to clean up a section of the Cambridge riverfront near Buckingham, Brown & Nichols, and covered a lot of ground in a short time! You may be familiar with the area - also known as "Hell's Half Acre" - just south (though going upriver) of the Eliot Bridge and the BB&N boathouse. The largest freshwater marsh along the Charles in either Boston or Cambridge.

Our work was part of an exercise an dividing and conquering – in the way that the Charles River Watershed Association organizes over a hundred different volunteer groups to help out at various sites along the Charles. It is truly a testament to the power of strength in numbers. By each making our own small contribution, we are all able to enjoy the rich, vibrant outdoor space the Charles provides us with so close to our urban centers.

We found a lot of amazing trash. It was a great chance to catch up with people - you can have interesting conversations while trying to figure out what strange object you've just confiscated. It felt good to give back to the community, and make our natural areas a little bit nicer for others.

Thank you to those that coordinated and attended the event this year, and hopefully we can make it annual chapter Earth Day tradition for years to come!