ANTRIM

Antrim will host a community event to celebrate responsible and sustainable outdoor recreation Sunday, April 23, from 2 to 4 p.m. The Parks and Recreation Commission will provide bike safety information, free helmets while supplies last, information on local hiking trails and best practices, signups for future group hiking trips and more.

BENNINGTON

On Saturday, April 22, the Bennington Conservation Commission is sponsoring its 14th annual Earth Day breakfast and roadside cleanup from 9 a.m. to noon. This event is held rain or shine, and will begin with a free waffle breakfast at the town depot.

Volunteers should arrive at the Old Bennington Depot about 9 a.m. They will be able to check in and get some egg frittata provided by The Common Place Eatery and waffles and maple syrup provided by Monadnock Paper Mills. The announcement of a Bennington student winner of the Earth Day Sign Competition will be made during the breakfast.

After breakfast, volunteers will be given blue bags for litter pickup, sign up for particular roadways to clean and head out around town. Bright reflective vests will be available for all participants. Volunteers are asked to bring work gloves.

The GEP Dodge Library will also sponsor a self-guided story walk through the Bruce Edes Memorial Forest for families. For Earth Day, the walk will focus on Mary Casanova’s book, “One-Dog Canoe,” with illustrations by Ard Hoyt. This book will highlight the theme of this year’s Earth Day, “The River Runs Through It” recognizing the Contoocook River’s role in the history, ecology, economics, recreation and quality of life in Bennington.

For information, call Bennington Town Hall at 603-588-2189.

DUBLIN

Dublin will celebrate Earth Day Saturday, April 22, with a cleanup day on town roads in the morning, followed by a barbecue lunch at noon at the community center and prizes for posters created by the elementary school students and trash collected.

FRANCESTOWN

Francestown’s roadside cleanup day will be Saturday, April 22. Volunteers should meet members of the Conservation Commission at the horse sheds at 9 a.m. to sign up for a section of road cleanup. The commission will provide blue bags and disposable gloves, and will have some orange safety vests available to borrow.

For people who want to get an early start, blue bags are available at the Town Offices, the post office, the transfer station and the library. Filled bags may be taken to the transfer station or left by the roadside. Town employees or volunteers will pick them up until April 30.

GREENFIELD

Greenfield’s Oak Park Committee will hold its second Earth Day cleanup and free barbecue Sunday April 23, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will take place at Oak Park, 971 Forest Road.

This family event is free and open to the public. Oak Park is a carry-in and carry-out facility. Garbage and leaf bags will be provided. Participants are encouraged to bring their own gloves, rakes and tools. The playground, baseball field and pavilion area are targeted to be cleaned. 

The free barbecue is provided by the Oak Park Committee. Refreshments will also be served.

From noon to 2 p.m., there will be a plant swap and children’s seed-planting activity. Participants are encouraged to bring plants, cuttings or seeds from home to swap. Shovels, seeds, pots and dirt will be provided.

GREENVILLE

Greenville’s roadside cleanup will be Saturday, April 22, from 9 a.m. to noon. This is a town-wide volunteer cleanup of litter and trash on the roadsides and public land in Greenville organized by the Conservation Commission.

Meet at Town Hall at 9 am. to select a street or streets and pick up trash bags. Participants should have gloves and wear appropriate footwear. People can leave filled bags curbside, and the Greenville Highway Department will collect them.

JAFFREY 

The Jaffrey Conservation Commission has scheduled the following programs:

-- Harris Center naturalist Phil Brown will present “Raptors in New Hampshire” Thursday, April 20, at 6:30 p.m. at Jaffrey Civic Center, 40 Main St.

-- Naturalist Caitlin Mather from the New England Wildlife Trust and David Pergallo from the Jaffrey Conservation Commission will lead a short hike in Carey Park and Children’s Woods Saturday, April 22, from 1 to 2 p.m. at Carey Park. The Conservation Commission is also offering free pollinator garden seeds from 1 to 5 p.m. at Jaffrey Town Common.

-- Matt Scaccia of the Forest Society narrates the history of Mount Monadnock Thursday, April 27, at 6:30 p.m. at Jaffrey Civic Center.

-- Arborist Robert Allen will speak about the diversity of native trees and bushes that live in New Hampshire Friday, April 28, at 6:30 p.m. at Jaffrey Civic Center.

On Saturday, April 22, from 10:30 a.m. to noon, people celebrate Earth Day at the Jaffrey Woman’s Club Cutler Memorial Building at 33 Main St. with activities, resource tables and story time.

Participants can paint a bird house to take home, join in a ring toss game with seed packet prizes, decorate a small flowerpot and plant a pansy in it and take part in independent or take-home activities such as coloring and crossword puzzles. At 11 a.m., there will be a story time with Miss Susan, who will read “The Great Kapok Tree.” The event is free and open to the public.

PETERBOROUGH

Peterborough’s annual Earth Day roadside pickup will be Thursday, April 20, through Sunday, April 23.

Picking up roadside frontage will help volunteers who have adopted specific stretches of road as a long-term commitment, year after year. State-supplied designated blue trash bags can be picked up at the Recycling Center during operating hours, and the Peterborough Town House and Peterborough Town Library.

The Peterborough Highway Department will pick up blue bags along town roads on April 24. State crews pick up blue bags along state roads. Clustering filled bags makes pick-up easier for both.

ConVal Interact Club, Kiwanis, Rotary, RiverMead, New Hampshire Ball Bearing and the Well School are among the groups that adopt significant road frontage. Contact the Conservation Commission to join a team or to sign up for a few stretches of the town’s 90 miles of roads that need volunteers at 603-547-7978.

Those unable to participate in the Earth Day pickup can deliver blue bags filled with roadside trash to the Recycling Center before or after the official period without the usual requirement of separation for recycling.

Participants are reminded to keep safety first by wearing bright clothing (“hunter orange” is encouraged) and always being mindful of traffic.

RINDGE

The Rindge Woman’s Club is sponsoring Earth Day with help from the Rindge Chamber of Commerce, community organizations, businesses and residents of all ages.

Blue trash bags are available at the library, Town Offices, post office, Meetinghouse, Recreation Center, TD Bank and the Edward Jones office. 

Chamber members will also be handing out the blue bags Saturday, April 22, at the transfer station.

Use the blue bags to collect roadside trash and bring full bags to the transfer station on April 29 for collection. Members of the Rindge Woman's Club will be there from 8 a.m. to noon to collect bags and enter people into a drawing for each blue bag filled with roadside trash.

There are four drawings – two $50 gift cards for adults and two $50 gift cards for children.

For information, send email to rindgewomansclub@gmail.com.

SHARON

The Sharon Conservation Commission will sponsor Sharon’s annual roadside cleanup on Saturday April 22. Anyone interested in cleaning up trash on the roads in Sharon can stop into the Sharon Town House on Route 123 between 9 and 11 a.m. to pick up trash bags and choose a section of road. 

TEMPLE

Temple's Good Roads Day is scheduled for Saturday, April 29, kicking off the town cleanup season which runs through summer into the fall. 

Come to Friendship Hall at 8:30 a.m. for homemade baked goods and coffee, tea or juice. Some tools, trash bags, tarps and disposable gloves are available, but it would help if people can bring their own.

The worksites are raking around the village center buildings, raking along the fencing, bleachers, tree line and the roadside at the ball field and picking up litter along town roads. There is no map or registration; just go to wherever there is trash and move to other roads as needed.

People who cannot work outside can make food for the potluck. Food can be left with the kitchen staff to keep warm, keep cold, or even to bake or cook while workers head outside. 

At noon, everyone takes a break and gathers for the midday potluck meal. People who have been raking can leave their piles to be picked up and hauled away after lunch, and litter pickup workers can bring their bags into the village center and leave them behind the buildings near the dumpster for separation and recycling. If bags are too heavy or otherwise unmanageable, leave them along the roadside to be picked up later by the gofer; make sure the gofer knows where they are located. 

After lunch, some people always stay to finish up work at the various work sites, clean Friendship Hall or help with the initial litter separation that begins around 1:30 p.m. Later, recyclables are taken to the WRC to complete the final separation.

WILTON

Wilton’s town-wide roadside cleanup continues through April 23. People can pick up blue bags at the recycling center and both Town Halls, post offices and libraries. People can return filled bags to the recycling center during normal hours. There is no need to sort roadside trash.

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