Volunteers urged to be part of Canal Clean Sweep in late April

Provided photo: A group of middle school boys and 6th grade teacher Dustin Gardner found lots of trash and also a ski, a bat, golf balls and 13 dollars during last year’s Canal Clean Sweep in April. Holley had more than 100 students help with the annual spring trash pickup.

Registration has opened for Canal Clean Sweep 2024 with trash pickups welcomed from April 19-21.

Parks & Trails New York, in partnership with the NYS Canal Corporation, is organizing the 19th annual Canal Clean Sweep in celebration of Earth Day.

Community service clubs, co-workers at a business or organization, Scouts or even families are encouraged to register for a spot or section of the canal. Or they can check back later to register as a volunteer for a public event. Use the Event Finder Map on Parks & Trails website.

Most events will occur on Earth Day weekend. However, volunteers can pick another day if it works better.

Click here to fill out a form to register a Canal Clean Sweep event, indicating the clean-up location, how many volunteers are expected, and what t-shirt sizes are needed.

After registering for a Canal Clean Sweep event (click here), Parks & Trails will provide more information and materials.

Last year, not-for-profit organizations, civic groups, businesses, and social clubs took part in more than 130 events along the Canal System and the Canalway Trail as 2,700 volunteers helped pick up nearly 1,500 bags of garbage.