By Megan Kelley
Review Writer
ORION TWP. — Welcome spring the weekend of April 21-23 by doing your part to beautify Orion Township during the 7th annual Orion Green Up.
Help Orion Township Parks and Recreation Department and the Polly Ann Trail make Orion a little greener by cleaning up areas you frequent and do your part to clean up the community.
The Green Up event this year is going to look a little bit different than in years past, with the celebration taking place on April 21 from 5-7 p.m. at Camp Agawam at the Alberici Lodge where there will be a tree planting ceremony, food, games and bag pick up.
Parks and Rec will distribute bags and give volunteers direction as to which sites need attention. Participants are permitted to bring their own tools, like rakes, shovels or gloves.
By starting the event on Friday, this allows volunteers to have all weekend to clean up their areas.
“Brown Road and Joslyn is always really bad. The major intersections are always bad so those places always need the most help but they can always go into the Google Doc and sign up or come that Friday and we’ll tell them where we need people to fill in,” said Jesse Sampson, Orion Township recreation programmer.
The parks and recreation department has made it easy this year to find a location to help clean up by creating a Google Doc that allows residents to sign up and view all the areas where help is needed. The list also includes an option to do another location of your choosing.
When cleaning up, volunteers will leave bags at the site for township employees to then pick up later, so it is important that you indicate where you will be working. If you’re unsure of where your hands would be of the most use, the major roads and intersections are usually the places that need the most attention.
As an ongoing event, Green Up is a great way to get involved in the community and learn more about the trails and parks in the township as a whole, Sampson said.
“This is a way to give back to our community; we want to help make it greener. We really prioritize our parks and open green spaces in the township. We want to make those as beautiful as possible for the community. It’s a great way to get our community involved in our green spaces,” Sampson said. “We really like to get the community involved and help make it greater, help keep it clean.”
Last year, Orion Township was named a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation for its commitment to effective urban forest management and holding a tree planting ceremony also helps bring awareness to the title.
For those interested in volunteering, you can scan the QR code or click here for a full list of places in need of extra volunteers or contact the Orion Center at 248-391-0304 ex. 3500 for more information.
Camp Agawam is at 1301 Clarkston Rd.