Spicket River Cleanup

SAVE THE DATE! 11th Annual Cleanup is on September 22, 2012

Thank you to everyone who came out to Manchester St. Park and helped out with the 2011 cleanup! We could not have done it without you. Here are some highlights from the cleanup!

Saturday September 22, 2012, 8:00 - 1:00
Join us at Manchester St. Park to kick-off and end the day's activities. Registration starts at 8:00 and by 9:00 AM you'll be at one of many sites along the river! Come back at noon for a free volunteer appreciation BBQ. For more information or to learn how your business or group can participate in or sponsor this year's Spicket River Cleanup please email Rosa or call (978) 974-0770

Please download and complete the Volunteer Registration and Waiver form to participate in the event:

Volunteer Registration and Waiver (English)

Volunteer Registration and Waiver (Spanish)

The Spicket River Greenway
The developing Spicket River Greenway, envisioned by our community as a three-mile long “emerald bracelet” of green spaces and walking paths that connect parks and neighborhoods, represents a series of infrastructure, program, and stewardship investments made by Groundwork Lawrence and the City of Lawrence that are helping to meet the many challenges facing our community. A former mill city in northeastern Massachusetts, Lawrence residents experience high rates of poverty, unemployment, foreclosure, and preventable disease, especially among our lowest-income Latinos who comprise over 65% of our population. The Greenway vision, derived from a multi-year collaborative planning effort led by Groundwork, was identified first in 1998 and continues to serve as a guiding strategy for achieving multiple goals associated with creating a more healthy community. With staunch public support for better riverfront and recreational access, increased walkability, and a healthier natural resource habitat in mind, Groundwork Lawrence has led a persistent, multi-faceted campaign to: advocate for enforcement efforts against illegal dumping with a youth-led Clean Spicket Campaign; raise awareness about the river and its recreational potential; clear invasive species from the river’s edge; improve its habitat with newly-planted natives; and challenge the community to engage in direct action to wholly reclaim our Spicket River.

The Cleanup in Context of the Wider Greenway Initiative
Groundwork Lawrence’s and our partners’ investments in the Spicket River Cleanup over the past few years have helped propel our multi-year Spicket River Greenway campaign, too. Since 2002, Groundwork has engaged over 5,500 residents, students, and local corporations in clearing 100+ tons of debris and over 3,500 tires from the banks of the Spicket River with nine annual Cleanups. Concurrently, Groundwork has served as project manager to the City of Lawrence, and as such, has leveraged millions in public funds and facilitated the design and construction of four new parks along the Spicket River, including two prominent brownfield-to-park transformations. The greenway is currently in construction thanks to a $2.65 million investment recently made by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Gateway City Parks program and matching Lawrence CDBG funds. Indeed, the Spicket River Greenway has inched from vision toward reality thanks to the investment of over $10+ million in public funds on riverfront open space projects, generous donations of cash and in-kind resources, and thousands of ardent volunteer stewardship hours completed during our annual Spicket River Cleanups.