The Edgewood Waterfront Preservation Association (EWPA) and Pawtuxet Village Association (PVA) are seeking volunteers to help with an Earth Day cleanup April 29 at Stillhouse Cove and Pawtuxet Park from 9  to 11:30 a.m.

“The cleanup is really a joint effort,” Donna Fieldman of the EWPA said. “The cleanup for us is Stillhouse Cove Saltmarsh and Park, while the PVA focuses on Pawtuxet Park. We kind of, like, work together. People can do both clean ups if they want that day, but don’t have to.”

Fieldman said that in order to participate in the cleanup people need to register as a volunteer. Registration, she said, is available on the EWPA website, stillhousecove.org. While the clean up is considered a family event, it is important to note that any children must be supervised. Anyone under the age of 16 must be “accompanied and supervised by their parent or legal guardian at volunteer events.” It is noted on the website that it is the responsibility of parents and guardians to ensure the safety of their children.

“On the website there is a waiver that people need to check out and read as they’re filling out the application,” Fieldman explained. “They don’t need to print it. In order to fill out the application you have to look at the waiver anyway, so hopefully the people signing up have read it.”

Fieldman said that for those who aren’t able to register before the event there will be waivers on site for volunteers to sign. In addition to the waiver, those signing up online are given a brief rundown on what to expect and bring. Two absolute must haves are drinking water and sturdy closed-toe shoes.

The EWPA will provide disposable gloves, trash bags, and a limited number of trash grabbers, but suggest bringing a thicker pair of your own work gloves as an option. Dressing for the weather is a must, as well as remembering to follow a few safety instructions;

• Always use gloves when picking up trash, even if using a trash grabber.
• Wear long, light colored pants and check yourself for ticks during and after the cleanup. We recommend using tick repellent on your pants.
• Don’t fill your trash bag so full that it is too heavy, or likely to tear.
• Handle sharp items with care. Hypodermic needles should be disposed of in the sharps container – ask your cleanup leader. Other sharp items such as broken glass may be wrapped in another trash bag before being placed in your trash bag. If any item seems too hazardous to handle or dispose of, it is OK to leave it there and notify your cleanup leader. Children should be instructed to not touch sharp items.
• Do not touch or dispose of dead animals.
• Beware of poison ivy. If you don’t know what it looks like, ask your cleanup leader.
• Do not become separated from the group.
• Don’t pick up items that are too heavy. Get help or leave the item where it is.
• Be careful when walking on the shore. Do not step on wet or algae-covered rocks.
• Please do not walk on sensitive dunes – footsteps are more harmful than litter!
• Do not walk close to breaking waves, especially on jetties.

“Pretty much what we’re looking for is for people to help us clean the area that was really impacted by the heavy rainstorm that we had back on December 23,” Fieldman said. “What happened in that storm was a lot of flooding, and they had redone the seawall by the yacht club and the water was as high as that. When the area returned to normal the beach area had gotten flooded through, and we lost a lot of the sea grass which we’ve since replanted. But, we had big timbers that came in and a dock which the city of Cranston helped us remove.”

With spring arriving, Fieldman said that a goal of the event is getting the area ready to grow by removing obstacles such as the items that have washed ashore over the cold winter months. Despite the work they’ve already done there is still more of a mess to clean up as a result of the flooding and volunteers are an important part of getting that work done for the organization. Fieldman said that there are several small canals in the middle of the marsh that need to be opened back up along with other cleaning tasks. Volunteers will be guided to help out where their efforts are most appropriate and match their abilities.

“We kind of try to give them areas that make sense,” Fieldman said. “Families with little kids we kind of push them in the direction that would be good for them to be working. We try to provide people with as much as we can to help and even collect all the cleanup at the end of the day to weigh it and give an idea of just how much was cleaned up.”

While the event is scheduled to take place on the 29th, a rain date of April 30 has been set in case of bad weather. The hours for the rain date are 10 a.m. to noon, which starts and ends half an hour later than the original time.