Celebrate Earth Day by Doing Good on the Canalway in 2024!
More than 140 Clean Sweep events will take place along the 400+-mile-long Canalway Trail System and the 524-mile-long Canal System, with opportunities for thousands of residents to give back to their local communities and to show pride in one of New York’s most iconic cultural and recreational resources.
Canal Clean Sweep does so much for our beloved greenway system:
✅ Helps prepare the Canalway for the summer recreation season
✅ Encourages exercise for the whole family
✅ Fulfills hours for community service or scouts
✅ Creates an opportunity to meet new people
Year after year, canal communities continue to amaze and inspire with their support and participation… a love letter to the Canal and Canalway Trail through hours of elbow grease and care. With a record-breaking number of events occurring this year, it’s easy to find one near you. Signing up to volunteer is just as easy! Take a look at our interactive map, click on a pin, and follow the link “volunteer to participate in this event” to fill out a registration form.
Western New York offers up a diverse set of event options occurring throughout the Clean Sweep weekend. The clean up scheduled for Mayor’s Park anticipates at least 100 volunteers, Tinsel’s clean up is sure to be sweet (this bike friendly business serves up smoothies, shakes, and sundaes along the Erie Canal in Albion); and Holley Girl Scout Troop 60916–in true scout spirit–is finding another way to support their local community by cleaning up a much-loved community asset.
Clean ups in and around the City of Rochester are bound to be a “sparkling” and enjoyable success this year. PTNY’s first official Empire State Trail Town, the Village of Brockport, and our valued Adopt-A-Trail Group, the Southwest Rochester Rotary Canal Cleansweep, are both offering volunteers extra supplies! Since PTNY’s supplies (t-shirts and garbage bags) are limited, we really appreciate when groups go above and beyond to make volunteers’ experience extra-fantastic with provisions like water and snacks.
The Finger Lakes Region has phenomenal natural beauty, but also boasts an embarrassment of gracious Clean Sweep hosts this year: American Legion Post 494; Historic Palmyra Museums; Clyde SPAN; Town of Montezuma; Erie Canal Museum; City of Syracuse Department of Parks, Recreation, and Youth Programs; and so many more.
As we move further east our events spread out a little, offering volunteers opportunities to explore and stretch their legs. From Utica to Ilion and Little Falls, we’re excited to see participation from Rotary groups, businesses, and Lion’s Club Members.
For visitors and residents alike, the Capital Region is ripe with opportunities. The North River Friends of Clearwater are headed towards Lock 8, the US Water Ski Snow Team is staging a spectacular land-based event for a change (you don’t want to miss their free water ski show behind Jumpin’ Jack’s on the Mohawk River this summer!), the Friends of the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail and Cycle Schenectady are teaming up to beautify in and around Union College, and PTNY’s own Arthur Savage Intern–Sydney Robinson–is calling on students from the University of Albany to join her downtown to give back to the city.
As you can tell from the variety above–from location to host group–one of our favorite parts of Canal Clean Sweep is that there’s something for everyone. Most events are family-friendly and feature the opportunity to create a mini-community for the day, dedicated to caring for one of New York’s favorite canal and trail systems. As always, keep an eye on the weather, and sign up to “Spring” into action with this great Earth Day clean up!
Want to get involved?
Visit ptnyfriends.org/canal-clean-sweep to find an event near you!