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St. LOUIS, Mo.—The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) joins the North Newstead Association to invite trash bashers to the Young Friends of EarthDay365 spring litter cleanup event at St. Louis City’s O’Fallon Park this Sunday, April 18 from 9 a.m.-noon.
Participants will help beautify the park and bring it closer to nature for the benefit of both the wildlife in the park and its human visitors. All ages and skill level are welcome, and tools, gloves and trash bags will be provided. Volunteer litter bashers will also enjoy snacks available throughout the morning.
To protect the health and safety of participants, the event will observe COVID-19 and social distancing protocols. Mask wearing will also be required.
There’ll also be opportunities for to get involved in community science using the Marine Debris Tracker app and partnering with local community members for data collection on plastic trash. The event will also feature an Environmental Justice presentation and how community members are responding to issues of concern.
Preregistration for the event is preferred at https://short.mdc.mo.gov/Zzg to help maintain COVID safety measures; however, walk-up volunteers the day of will also be welcome. Volunteers should report to the O’Fallon Park Rec Complex at 4343 West Florissant Road shortly before 9 a.m.
The O’Fallon Park litter cleanup is funded partly by MDC, along with an allocation of Community Development Block Grant funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the City of St. Louis' Community Development Administration.
The cleanup effort will also help MDC’s Back to Nature in O’Fallon Park initiative, a partnership to restore natural habitat to the park through MDC’s Back to Nature St. Louis Grant. The goal of the project is to revitalize and enhance the park to improve the aesthetic experience for its visitors, facilitate their enjoyment of nature, and enhance nature programming opportunities.
Restoring native habitat is one of MDC’s major goals, to enhance the quality of life for people, and establish important islands of habitat for native plants and wildlife in urban areas.
