Local Hayward Boy Scout troops, families, friends and neighbors gathered together at Weekes Park Saturday morning to pick up trash, but not because they had to, because they wanted to.

In celebration of Earth Day, Hayward volunteers were called to action for the annual citywide Cleanup Day.  Three hundred volunteers of all ages participated in Saturday’s trash pickup of several litter-heavy streets in Hayward.

“This annual cleanup has been in place for probably two decades or longer,” said Solid Waste Manager Vera Dahle-Lacaze. “It was, as I understand it, a joint effort between various neighborhood groups and some members of the city council who had some ideas to work together to just collect litter in different neighborhoods and its grown quite a bit since those earlier efforts.”

Using gloves, vests, grabbers and other tools provided by the city, volunteers headed off to clean up streets such as West Tennyson, Mission Blvd, Jackson, Harder Road and more. According to Dahle-Lacaze, those are some of the major neighborhoods they have learned, for a variety of reasons, may have litter on some of their streets.

Residents, the Homeowners Association, religious groups, Boy Scouts, and many other types of groups came to Weekes Park to pick up supplies and get to work.

“They’ll go out to an area, typically one that we will identify, for about 2 to 3 hours,” said Dahle-Lacaze. “Then any of those people that choose to come back to Weekes Park can enjoy a barbecue that we serve to all those volunteers and then the volunteers are welcome to choose a t-shirt or bag as a complimentary gift.”

This annual event happens every year around May, but this year they moved it close to Earth Day upon requests from residents, according to Dahle-Lacaze.

“Earth Day really is everyday, but when the city comes together to celebrate it, there is no better way to honor it then by cleaning your own city,” said yearly volunteer Sam Cordell. “I have gone to other Earth Day events, but trash pickup and cleanups are probably the most meaningful and most beneficial.”

The history of Earth Day dates back to April 22, 1970. It has now become an annual tradition where events are held worldwide to demonstrate support for environmental protection.

Forty Three years ago, 20 million Americans took to the streets and parks to protest for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive cross-country rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities arranged protests against the growing deterioration of the environment.

Groups fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways and loss of wilderness, also participate in Earth Day celebrations, according to Earth Day website.

Now coordinated globally by the Earth Network and celebrated in more than 192 countries each year, many cities commemorate this holiday with festive events and cleanup days, such as Hayward.

Earth Day cleanup events are only a small piece of Hayward’s on-going plan to keep the city clean, green and sustainable.

“We started many of these initiatives about five or more years ago, some of that information is contained in what we call our Climate Action Plan,” said Dahle-Lacaze.  “The Climate Action Plan addresses very broadly, objectives to help the residents and businesses live in a better environment in this city.”

According to Dahle-Lacaze many other cities in California have implemented climate action plans of their own.

Hayward’s Climate Action Plan, which was adopted by the City Council on July 28, 2009, aims to enhance the health of all who live and work in Hayward. Their ongoing 5-year plan includes, increasing Hayward’s potential for “green” economic development, decreasing the community’s dependence on non-renewable resources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according to the City of Hayward website.

The plans currently involve improving mass transit, new recycling services, and a wide variety of energy saving measures.

Hayward has various staff members within the city who have particular expertise in those different areas, according to Dahle-Lacaze.