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Saturday, April 18, was a beautiful spring day. The sun was shining brightly and the green shades that signal the beginning of warmer weather were beginning to bloom on the hillsides surrounding Brookline and Moore Parks. What a perfect setting to celebrate Earth Day 2009, and what better way to usher in the spring season than with a clean, litter free neighborhood for everyone to enjoy?

For the fifth consecutive year, the boys and girls of Brookline came together and donated a couple hours of their time helping to clean up Brookline's two city parks. Led by the staff of the Brookline Recreation Center, and assisted by several adult leaders, the kids worked hard to help remove much of the unsightly litter that had built up over the past fall and winter.

The Brookline and Moore Park efforts were part of the Cleanways Project here in Brookline, coordinated by Keith Knecht of the South Pittsburgh Development Corporation (SPDC), a local community action group. The city-wide efforts are directed by the Pennsylvania Resources Council and Pittsburgh Citiparks. PA Cleanways is actually statewide effort to help eliminate illegal dumping and littering in Pennsylvania. Throughout the state, hundreds of thousands of residents joined in the pickup. Some of the other neighborhood areas where Keith and the many SPDC volunteers cleaned were Brookline Boulevard, Whited Street and Pioneer Avenue.

Noah Sartori, Luke Jacobs, Seth Derrick, Marcus Jacobs, Philip Tranter and Brian Hall
cleared the upper parking lot and the hillside below Breining Street.

When the day was complete, there were two large piles of garbage covering the pickup sites at both Moore and Brookline Parks. It was quite a fine effort by our own neighborhood kids, who all learned a lesson about the offensive nature of litter, especially the abundant doggie poop bags that are so carelessly discarded. Now it's up to the good citizens of Brookline to help keep our community resources clean. It's easy to walk past litter, ignore it or even contribute to it. It's equally easy to bend over and pick up a piece of trash. You'll feel better, and if everyone did that, think how nice our streets, sidewalks and parks could be!

The staff of the Brookline Recreation Center would like to thank all the children and adults who helped out with the park cleanup. Special thanks to our sponsors, Pittsburgh Citiparks, Antonio's Pizzeria and especially the South Pittsburgh Development Corporation. Each year, the good people at SPDC provide us with the supplies needed and then top it off by sending pizza and pop to help feed all of our hungry little workers.

The Brookline Park team included:

Brian Hall, Laila Jones, Marcus Jacobs, Seth Derrick, Luke Jacobs, Noah Sartori, Nick Manuel, Tony Manuel, Mark Roell, Nick Roell, Tiana Bennett, Tania Bennett, Hannah Tremel, Phillip Tranter, Billy Tranter, Mark Mellix, Brittany Corbett, Gage Derrick, Kayla Derrick, Keegan Derrick, Julia Jacobs, Joe Szymanski, Clint Burton, Jimmy Perry, Eugene Flowers, Jan Perry, Caitlin McNulty, Sabine Jacobs, Reita Derrick, Jamaica Johnson and Milan Tyler.

The Moore Park team included:

Danielle Maxwell, Lindsay Pierce, Michael Elwood, Zachary Neal, Natalie Neal, John Fichter, Stephanie Snyder, Drevon Lunsford, Jimmy Perry, Eugene Flowers, Rocky Powell, Rodney Powell, Rachel Pierce and Michelle Underwood.