Making a Clean Sweep in Grafton

Grafton will receive its annual spring cleaning Saturday when the town celebrates the sixth annual Community Day.

Volunteers, wearing gloves and armed with trash bags, visit specific sites in towns that they think need particular attention. The day runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and includes lunch on the Common when the clean-up is completed.

"We all really want a clean. sparkling, well-presented town,'' said Dawn Geoffroy, who created the event and serves as its chairman. "This is one way we can step right up and change our own environment.''

The event is co-sponsoerd by the Grafton Land Trust and the Grafton Garden Club.

Bags can be picked up through the end of the day Friday at the Town Administrator's office at the Municipal Center or on Saturday at a specifically marked vehicle outside the Congregational Church.

Individuals, families and teams can join forces to work on areas that "speak to them,'' she said. In some cases, it could be their neighborhoods. In others, the spot may be a location they drive by.

Sometimes the "day'' isn't really a day at all, she said. Some people clean Friday or perhaps later Saturday or Sunday. The trash is collected on Monday.

Lunch is served by volunteers from  and includes hot dogs, hamburgers, potato chips and bottled water.

Information on recycling and other environmental and social issues will be available on the Common.

Geoffroy hopes that participants will not only take away unwanted trash and debris from sites but also plant flowers and greenery to beautify the area. The Garden Club traditionally beautifies the Welcome to Grafton signs and other locations with plantings.

Beautification represents "a huge piece of this to me,'' she said.

For more information, call (508) 887-8678.