26th Annual Earth Day Cleanup Along the Charles River Brings Together Thousands of Volunteers Across More Than 80 Locations (Press Release)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: APRIL 15, 2025
The 26th Annual Earth Day Charles River Cleanup Partner Organizations (left to right): Sonja Wadman, Executive Director, Waltham Land Trust; Brian Arrigo, Massachusetts DCR Commissioner; Jen Mergel, Executive Director, Esplanade Association; Karen Mauney-Brodek, President, Emerald Necklace Conservancy; Audrey Lepore, Director of Development, Charles River Watershed Association; and Laura Jasinski, Executive Director, Charles River Conservancy. Photo credit: Carly Sherman, Charles River Watershed Association
BOSTON, MA—From Holliston to Boston, over 2,000 registered volunteers will work across 80+ sites spanning the Charles River in the 26th Annual Earth Day Charles River Cleanup on Friday, April 25th, and Saturday, April 26th, 2025. The event empowers participants to give back to their communities, strengthen their connection with nature, and cultivate lifelong habits of environmental care by fostering a sense of stewardship for their rivers and parklands.
Since its inception in 1999, the Charles River Cleanup has mobilized thousands of volunteers annually to remove litter and invasive plants and assist with park maintenance along the Charles River’s 80-mile stretch and within the 1,100 acres of Emerald Necklace parkland surrounding the Muddy River, a vital tributary of the Charles.
"The Charles River Earth Day Cleanup is an incredible community-wide event that rejuvenates the parks, playgrounds, and paths surrounding the Charles River," says Laura Jasinski, Executive Director of the Charles River Conservancy (CRC), a nonprofit dedicated to the protection and improvement of the urban Charles River and its parks. "CRC is one of the many organizations honored to work alongside thousands of volunteers each year, ensuring our public green spaces are clean, safe, and beautiful for everyone to enjoy."
"As the final bank before the Charles River Dam that receives upriver trash from many miles and tributaries, the Esplanade depends each year on the Charles River Cleanup to remove that waste before it slips to the Harbor," says Jen Mergel, Executive Director of the Esplanade Association (EA). "The EA team is so grateful to partner for decades with our sister nonprofits, our friends at DCR, and so many amazing volunteers across generations and geographies to ensure the health of the Charles (Quinobequin) for decades to come."
“The Muddy River, the central waterway of the Emerald Necklace parks and a major tributary to the Charles, has had an eventful year,” says Karen Mauney-Brodek, President of the Emerald Necklace Conservancy. “From the removal of the last fenced-off work areas of the Muddy River Restoration Project to our ongoing community visioning process for its health and future in partnership with the Charles River Watershed Association, and to ecological threats that remind us just how important these waterways are: now more than ever, it is crucial that we come together this spring and do our part to care for our shared urban ecosystems!”
“The Waltham Land Trust is thrilled to welcome folks of all ages to the banks of the Charles to remove litter and invasive plant species,” says Sonja Wadman, Executive Director of the Waltham Land Trust. “We might even find time to teach participants about the role Waltham played in the start of the American Industrial Revolution, a favorite topic of mine!”
“We are so grateful to the thousands of volunteers who turn out to remove trash from the banks and parks and roadways near the Charles," said Emily Norton, Executive Director of Charles River Watershed Association. “We look forward to the day when this cleanup isn't necessary, but until then, this amazing turnout demonstrates how much people care about a clean, healthy Charles River.”
Get involved, learn more, and register for the Charles River Earth Day Cleanup at https://www.charlesrivercleanup.org. The Charles River Cleanup is coordinated by the Charles River Conservancy, the Charles River Watershed Association, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, the Esplanade Association, and the Waltham Land Trust in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and Senator Will Brownsberger.
