Celebrate Earth MOnth with the American Littoral Society

It's never too early to celebrate Earth Day. So, we're not waiting until April 22 to get things started; this year we will be offering a month of volunteer events. Read on to learn how you can join us in New Jersey and New York during Earth Month.

We will kick things off on Saturday, April 4 by partnering with AmeriCorps NJ Watershed program, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, with The National Park Service for a beach cleanup on Sandy Hook. Join us at Lot B in the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area from 10 a.m. to Noon to help pickup litter and debris that has washed ashore on the bayside. Registration is required for this event.

No worries if you can't make that first event, we have several more opportunities in the week around Earth Day, starting with two cleanups on Saturday, April 18.

In the first, we will partner with the City of Bridgeton and Gateway Community Action for a citywide cleanup intended to help us protect the Cohansey River Watershed. Meet at the Gateway Warming Center, 7 Washington St, Bridgeton, NJ, at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 18. Water, T-shirts, gloves, and trash pickers will be provided. Kids must be accompanied by a guardian. Find more info.

Later that same day, we will join the Rockaway Film Festival for a shoreline cleanup with a creative twist at Dubos Point Wildlife Sanctuary in Arverne, NY. From 3-5 p.m., volunteers will collect debris, and items with "art potential" will be set aside for future collaborative workshops. The cleanup is bookended by film screenings at Arverne Cinema, making it a perfect blend of environmental action and local culture. Find more info on the Rockaway Film Festival website.

On April 21, the day before Earth Day, you can join us on Sandy Hook for spring cleaning of the pollinator garden in front of the Littoral Society headquarters building at 18 Hartshorne Drive, in the Fort Hancock Section of Gateway National Recreation Area. We will be removing winter ground cover, repairing small fencing, and deadheading plants but no prior gardening experience is needed. Whether you're a seasoned pro or a first-timer, we’d love your help "sprucing up" the Hook. Please RSVP so we know how many to expect.

Also, on April 21 we will be joining a Teen Rain Garden Planting, Cleanup & Pizza Party from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Cumberland County Library, Fairfield, NJ. We’ll start with a short presentation and some pizza before heading out to the library’s rain garden to cleanup and install new plants. This is a great opportunity for students ages 13–18 to earn volunteer hours. Registration is required.

We will conclude our Earth Month activities on Sunday, April 26 with a pair of events - one in New Jersey's Point Pleasant Borough and the other in Far Rockaway, NY.

The former is our annual Christmas in Spring event at the Slade Dale Nature Preserve along Beaverdam Creek. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., volunteers will help us place recycled Christmas trees in branchbox breakwaters - wooden structures set in stream that are designed control erosion by using trees and brush to slow currents and waves, as well as capture the sediment being carried in the water. The recycled trees were collected with the help of Point Pleasant Borough Public Works and Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. Please RSVP if you plan to lend a hand.

That same Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., we will be hosting a planting event at Arverne East Nature Preserve in Far Rockaway, NY. We will be planting a number of trees and shrubs to help beautify the new coastal park, and add wildlife habitat in honor and memory of local NYC native landscape gardener Cindy Goulder. Please RSVP on our website.

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