Greening Up Mount Major on Earth Day

Anna Berry
April 26, 2021
Recreation
Stewardship
Forest Society staff and volunteers pose in the parking lot at Mt Major with a truck full of collected trash behind them.
Forest Society volunteers and staff celebrated another successful Earth Day cleanup. (Photo: Jake Berry)

Volunteers dig on the Main Trail at Mount Major as Andy Crowley supervises.
These volunteers helped at the bottom of the Main Trail on Mount Major with Stewardship Projects Manager Andy Crowley directing the work..
Volunteers were expected on Earth Day at Mount Major but snow was not. Despite the freezing temperatures, a hearty group braved ongoing flurries to take part in the Forest Society's annual cleanup at one of the state's most-hiked peaks on April 22.

A volunteer holds a frame up that says "I love Mount Major" on Earth Day.
Volunteer Russ Wilder is one of the hundreds of thousands of people who love Mount Major!
From longtime volunteers who passed out bags to the Troop 89 scouts and many others who picked up trash along the trails and roadside, the 2021 Earth Day volunteers worked hard to leave Mount Major pristine.

Parents hold a trash bag along the trail at Mount Major.
Parents from scout Troop 89 in Concord helped collect trash despite the snow.
Visitors also had a chance to see the results of a restoration project that took place during September 2020, which repaired the base of the eroded Main (Blue) Trail and provided better drainage. With an estimated 80,000 visitors to Mount Major each year, the Forest Society strives to keep the trails clean and safe - but we can't do it alone. Learn more about how you can leave no trace during a visit to Mount Major by watching a video on the reservation guide page.

Stewardship projects Manager Andy Crowley said the amount of trash collected by the end of the day was less than previous years. However, he said that could mean that visitors are becoming more aware of the need to leave no trace and are helping clean up waste each time they visit the trails.

A group of hikers from Nashua and Dunbarton volunteered to pick up trash along the trail.
A group of hikers from Nashua and Dunbarton volunteered to pick up trash along the trail.
If you missed the Earth Day cleanup, you can find future outdoor volunteer opportunities on the Forest Society's events calendar and on the website of Nature Groupie.

Thank you to everyone who cleanup a Forest Society reservation this Earth Month!

A Forest Society truck is partially full of bags of trash collected on Mount Major.
The end of the cleanup resulted in fewer bags of trash than in previous years.