Four years ago Robert Cooper, chair of the Green Team at that time, proposed we participate in an Earth Day clean up project. We would be working with a group of abutters to the Charles River in the Quinobequin neighborhood of Newton to clean up the banks of the river.

I recruited my sons (young men who care) and we joined a group of five others from the Green

Team with trash bags in hand. The neighbors were welcoming and grateful for our help. They explained that they are the sole maintenance crew for that part of the Charles. They provided snacks and off we went to gather the debris that other humans had either inadvertently or deliberately discarded on the shore of the Charles. We collected coffee cups, wrappers, children’s toys, clothing items and more. In all, we collected over a dozen large bags of garbage from about a 400-foot swath of the river.

It was a great feeling to have participated in this project that in a small but effective way repaired a part of our world. The comradeship of the group, both neighbors and our Green Team members, was a bonus to the experience. It was one I have kept in my memory bank to resurrect at times when I feel our efforts are futile to save our planet.

This year Earth Day is April 22, the beginning of Passover. On the last day of Passover, April 27, we have an opportunity to recreate that special day. It seems appropriate that we do this on Passover when God gave us the tablets, with principles that guide our behavior in this world.