Even with the crisp weather and the all-too-recent snow, even the most cynical will have to admit that the season has changed. Look up, and trees are in bud. Look down, crocus, squills, choionodoxa and daffodils shame the still-muddy grass with their color. Forsythia bushes are bright as the sun.
Some dregs and debris of winter yet remain, and the City has declared April 26, this coming Saturday, as a day to clean up Evanston. Ten sites – at least one in each ward – have been designated and, according to the City, all of them “can use the attention.” Volunteers who wish to register beforehand can sign up online at VolunteerEvanston.org. Otherwise, we are sure that “surprise” guests will be welcomed. Sturdy shoes, gardening gloves and sun-hats should be part of the day’s attire.
City volunteers at each of the cleanup sites will distribute green refuse bags – and free food vouchers for use at the City’s post-cleanup Earth Day and Arbor Day Celebration at the Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, 1655 Foster St., from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on the same day.
Those who wish to clean up undesignated sites – such as their neighborhoods or property – can also obtain free refuse bags, five per household, at the Morton Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.; the Levy Senior Center, 300 Dodge Ave.; and Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, 1655 Foster St.; any of the five fire stations; Ace Hardware at 1008 Davis St.; or Harold’s Hardware, 2912 Central St.
Residents who have cleaned up non-designated sites are asked to leave their green refuse bags next to the nearest City garbage can or in the parkway in front of their home – on their normal garbage collection day.