Houghton Earth Day event invites public to clean up and beautify waterfront

Visit Keweenaw and the city of Houghton are ecstatic to announce an organized Houghton Waterfront cleanup on Earth Day, April 22. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to noon at the Houghton Waterfront Pier. The Portage Lake District Library will host rock painting during the same timeframe. Cleanup includes a beautification project planting flowers and fixing up flowerbeds. Volunteers of all ages are welcome to join and help clean and beautify the Houghton Waterfront. It is important to keep the gateway to the Keweenaw pristine and beautiful. Parents are asked to accompany children.

“As volunteers, we always appreciate extra help working in our gardens,” said Julie Waara, co-founder of the Houghton Beautification Committee. “If you cannot help on that day, please consider helping on our weekly work sessions or volunteer to adopt a garden yourself.”

Volunteers will be given gloves, bags and other equipment to collect trash and debris along the waterfront. People can meet at the pier to start and will divide into groups from there.

“Houghton Earth Day is part of a global movement to celebrate and protect our planet,” said Kayleigh White, Visit Keweenaw content manager and event organizer. “At a time of year when receding snowbanks often reveal hidden trash from the long winter, we think Earth Day provides a fantastic opportunity to come together as a community for cleanup and beautification.”

“If you're not in Houghton for Earth Day, that's OK,” concluded White. “We encourage everyone to support this global movement by cleaning up a nearby park, community, or neighborhood.”