Apr 22, 2017 2 min read

MCMURRAY – For a while Saturday, orange was all the rage.

While it hasn’t been thought of as a fashionable color for decades, it was prevalent throughout Washington County and elsewhere as volunteers donned orange safety vests and took to the sides of roads to pick up trash, pull weeds, clean streams and do other work to improve the environment, at least on a local scale.

All the events were held to celebrate Earth Day, the annual event that highlights issues surrounding environmental protection. It came into being in 1970, just as environmental awareness was gathering steam.

“We want to be community-minded, and this looked like a great way to do it,” said Buzz Pasquini, sales director for the Peters Township office of realtors Howard Hanna, as participants in the township’s clean up activities congregated at the community’s recreation center.

Starting at 9 a.m., volunteers were deployed to various spots in the township to pick up litter.

“It’s a way to clean up the community and to think about sustainability,” said Mandy Cribbs, chairwoman of Peters’ enviromental quality board.

In West Finley Township, there was a two-day clean-up effort Friday and Saturday led by the Pittsburgh office of RES, an environmental company.

At the other end of the county, staffers from The Meadows Casino volunteered at Greater Washington County Food Bank farm in Brownsville, cleaning one of the farm buildings and installing raised garden growing beds. Burgettstown had its first clean up day Saturday, with volunteers meeting at the borough building on Main Street. Once there, they were provided with safety vests, garbage bags and a designated spot to clean up.

Meanwhile, students in the social work program at Greensburg’s Seton Hill University were due to descend on the Mon Valley community of Monessen for a two-day clean-up and community beautification drive Saturday and today. It’s part of an ongoing project by the students. Plans for the event came together after students held a community meeting to discuss ideas for the project, and it was decided they would plant flowers, pull weeds, rake leaves and pick up trash to celebrate Earth Day.