Chicago volunteers unite for Earth Day cleanup in Humboldt Park

CHICAGO – Local groups are keeping the Earth Day message alive going into the spring.

While Saturday’s temperatures were only in the 40s, they didn’t stop volunteers’ efforts during an Earth Day cleanup in Humboldt Park.

“For over 40 years, residents have come together to clean up our parks to ensure that they are safe and healthy and accessible for visitors and, of course, the entire community,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

Americans began celebrating Earth Day in April of 1970 to raise awareness about the importance of protecting the environment.

That awareness has now gone global and Earth Day is now observed in nearly 200 countries.

“The EPA was created because of activism. Earth Day was created because people said, ‘We have to be active and we have to promote environmentalism. We have to promote the natural habitat and being good stewards of the natural habitat.’ So we’re continuing that heritage and that tradition here in the City of Chicago,” Chicago Park Superintendent Carlos Ramirez-Rosa said.

This year’s cleanup in Humboldt Park was the biggest one yet for the Chicago Park District and the organization Friends of the Parks, who both recruited over 2,000 volunteers – a record number.

“We use this park all the time, so we want to make sure that we take care of it and preserve it for future generations, and as a parent, I mean I think about my kids being able to use this park and enjoy it in the same way that I do,” volunteer Elizabeth Reynolds said. “I’m hoping to teach my kids that this is important and to take care of the Earth as much as we can.”

Those volunteers spent hours sprucing up 150 parks.