Volunteers Will Beautify Five Sound Shore Towns In A Single Day

SOUND SHORE, NY — Spring is a time of renewal and your neighbors are already onboard with a program to make the Sound Shore a little bit nicer for both pollinators and people.

The City of Rye, along with the villages of Mamaroneck, Port Chester, Rye Brook and the Town of Rye are issuing a call for volunteers to "help beautify our communities with new pollinator plantings at any of five locations." The five-municipality cleanup project will take place on April 23, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., with a rain date scheduled for April 30.

Volunteers will be able to choose which of the communities they wish to help beautify with new plants. The combined efforts of the five communities to add new plantings is expected to noticeably change the look of the region for the better.

In Rye Town, crews will work in Crawford Park. In Rye Brook, volunteers will meet at the Rye Brook Senior Center located at 32 Garibaldi Place. Port Chester volunteers will meet at The Capitol Theatre to beautify downtown and the waterfront. Mamaroneck workers will meet at 1 Station Plaza to put in new plantings in Columbus Park. Efforts in the City of Rye will focus on Rye Town Park.

Volunteers wishing to help out in any of the five communities are asked to pre-register and sign the release here before April 21. Walk-ins will be welcome but need to register at the check-in desk.

COVID-19 protocols will be observed. Volunteers are asked to bring their own trash-grabbers, gloves, pruners, trowels, shears, spades and other needed tools.

The day’s activities will be entirely outside in the elements. Volunteers are asked to wear closed-toe shoes and long pants. Participants are reminded not to forget sunscreen and insect repellent. Everyone should bring their own water bottles.

Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult.

Following the events, there will be a free presentation on native plants and pollinators by Lori Fontanes, a Healthy Yards advocate. The presentation will be at 11:30 a.m. in the Port Chester-Rye Brook Public Library located at 1 Haseco Ave. in Port Chester.