Troop Leader Melissa Sciortino holds a trash bag while Girl Scouts Lana, left, and Kennedy, gather garbage dropped on the ground by people at DeWitt Recreation Area in Batavia.

Also helping from Troop 60870 in Spencerport was Isabella.

The girls were earning badges for environment, hiking and wilderness.

The clean-up was part of the Genesee County Parks Department celebration of Earth Day at DeWitt.

Robert and Sara Mackenzie were among the volunteers today helping to clean up Oakfield for the community's 13th annual Earth Day observance. The Mackenzies were picking up trash on Drake Street Road.

Earth Day is your chance to give back to your community and take care of the earth!!

Join us at DeWitt Recreation Area in Batavia for the Earth Day Park Cleanup on Saturday, April  23rd from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Celebrate Earth Day and help keep the park beautiful and the habitat safe and healthy for wildlife! Learn to make cool things from recycled materials and enjoy a naturalist-guided hike to discover natural wonders in the park. Enjoy wild games and find out what you can do each day to help the earth! Service groups, students, 4H and scouts can earn community service hours and badge requirements. Meet at Pavilion 2 for all activities. Celebration and all activities are FREE and open to the public. 

Schedule of Activities:

• 10:00 am – 2:00 pm Park Cleanup Projects: Make the park beautiful and healthy for wildlife!
• 10:00 am – 2:00 pm Recycled Crafts 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Field Games for Kids 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Guided Hike

Celebration and all activities are FREE! Please pre-register for activities by calling 585-344-1122! 

Volunteers turned out in droves yesterday for two big Earth-Day-related cleanups of public spaces in Batavia.

First was an effort to pickup litter along the Ellicott Trail. Also, County Parks officials hosted an Earth Day event at DeWitt Recreation Area that included not just a cleanup but Scouts involved in projects and games and information booths about taking care of our planet.

Press release:

Earth Day is your chance to give back to your community and take care of our planet! Here are two fun events this weekend.

Join us at DeWitt Recreation Area in Batavia for the 20th annual Earth Day Park Cleanup on Saturday, April 24th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Celebrate Earth Day and help keep the park beautiful and the habitat safe and healthy for wildlife!

Registration is still open for the free local electronics recycling event in Batavia on May 15.

The Brockport-based electronics recycling company Sunnking is handling the recycling.

In the spirit of Earth Day -- today, April 22 -- this year's theme is "Restore Our Earth."

Due to coronavirus health and safety protocols, residents will be REQUIRED to register online for a drop-off time slot, or reserve a spot by calling (585) 637-8365.

Register online at sunnking.com/events. Registration closes when time slots are booked up or by 4 p.m. the day before the event.

You must register to print out a ticket to take to the event in order to get in.

Here's a link to a list of materials that are acceptable; here the list of what's unacceptable.

REMEMBER to neatly pack your recyclables in the back of your vehicle for easy unloading. Limit of 4 CRT (tube) monitors or TVs per vehicle.

Due to the rising costs of recycling and the coronavirus pandemic, Sunnking also asks supporters for an optional monetary donation to continue providing the environmentally responsible service. Sunnking collects an average of 100 tons of electronics per event.

WHO: Sunnking Electronics Recycling

WHAT: Local electronics recycler, Sunnking, is holding its initial round of FREE e-recycling events for 2021. 

WHEN:

• Batavia -- May 15 / 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.​

​WHERE:

• Batavia -- Genesee Social Services Department, 5130 E. Main St.,#3 (Enter off Ag Park Drive West.)

​HOW:

Register online. Health and safety procedures will be in place to ensure a safe environment, including timed appointments, no-contact device removal, and dedicated drive-through lanes.

WHY:

Good stewardship of the Earth and its resources, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Registration is now open for free local electronics recycling events, in the spirit of Earth Day, which is Thursday, April 22. This year's Earth Day theme is "Restore Our Earth."

Last year, the Brockport-based electronics recycling company Sunnking saw record-breaking attendance, with eight events fully booked up for all drop-off time slots.

Due to coronavirus health and safety protocols, residents will be REQUIRED to register online for a drop-off time slot, or reserve a spot by calling (585) 637-8365.

Register online at sunnking.com/events and find a complete list of recyclable devices.

Sunnking collects an average of 100 tons of electronics per event.

Due to the rising costs of recycling and the coronavirus pandemic, Sunnking also asks supporters for an optional monetary donation to continue providing the environmentally responsible service.

Here is information about the first round of Upstate/Western NY events:

WHO: Sunnking Electronics Recycling

WHAT: Local electronics recycler, Sunnking, is opening registration for its initial round of FREE e-recycling events for 2021. 

WHEN:

• Batavia -- May 15 / 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• North Syracuse – April 17 / 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• Williamsville – May 1 / 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

WHERE:

• Batavia -- Genesee Social Services Department, 5130 E. Main St., #3 (Enter off Ag Park Drive West.)
• North Syracuse – Cicero-North Syracuse High School
• Williamsville – Eastern Hills Mall

HOW:

Register online. Health and safety procedures will be in place to ensure a safe environment, including timed appointments, no-contact device removal, and dedicated drive-through lanes.

WHY:

Good stewardship of the Earth and its resources, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

********************************************************

"We're really excited to see how many people will carry over that excitement for recycling that we witnessed last year," said Robert Burns, director of Marketing for Sunnking. "Throughout the winter we've had New Yorkers from all corners call us asking when the next event would be and now, we can give them the first few dates to look forward to."

Sunnking, New York State’s first R2 certified recycler, has offered no-cost collections in Western and Central New York since 2010.

"Thousands of people have clearly used the last couple of cold months at home to take inventory of their devices or upgrade over the holidays and now is their chance to take back their space the responsible way," Burns said.

Today's announcement comes as Sunnking celebrates its 21st anniversary, offering clients throughout New York state electronics recycling, ITAD (IT Asset Disposition), and data destruction services.

More local events will be announced in the coming weeks.

Photos submitted by Jason Smith, taken in his back yard in Batavia.

Photo of DeWitt Recreation Area in Batavia taken by Mel Robinson in July 2014.

From the The Batavia Area Jaycees:

The Batavia Area Jaycees have gotten creative to not let the COVID-19 Pandemic ruin all of their plans. To celebrate Earth Day, The Batavia Area Jaycees are asking the community to vote for their favorite nature photo in their online contest album that can be found here.

The photo with the most likes and reactions will win, and the Jaycee member who submitted the winning photo will pick a local charity for the service group to donate money to.

Voting will remain open until Monday April 27^th at noon. All photos are taken locally to celebrate Earth’s beauty in our community. 

The group was originally supposed to participate in a litter cleanup event to celebrate Earth Day. With the state being on pause, that event was unfortunately canceled. The group brainstormed new ways to act out their mission while practicing social distancing. 

The Batavia Area Jaycees is a group of young, active citizens ages 18-41 who work together to provide development opportunities that empower people to create positive change within themselves and our community. They strive to grow personally and professionally so that they can make an impact in our community and beyond.

The Jaycees are always accepting new members. The group will resume monthly meetings after the pandemic, so follow them on Facebook or email them at bataviajaycees@gmail.com to learn more information on how to become a member.

The group currently has members from all over Genesee County as well as Orleans County.

Every day during break week (4/6-4/11) at 2:30pm the Richmond Memorial Library Children's Room will be hosting programs celebrating our environment and conservation.

Registration is necessary - we want to have plenty of supplies for everyone; call us 585.343.9550 ext. 4. Recommended for all ages; Children under 5yo will need an adult.

Monday (4/6) Farm in a Glove

Tuesday (4/7) Scrap Art with the Scrap Lady

Wednesday (4/8) Gen County Parks activity

Thursday (4/9) Edible Quakes

Friday (4/10) Planting Milkweed with Eastern Monarch Butterfly Farm

Saturday (4/11) Make flower seed bombs