The First Annual Spring Clean-UP at Swede Run will take place Saturday, May 12 at 8 a.m.
By: Amy Filippone, Dept. of Parks & Recreation
The thermometer may now show it, but spring is here and that means it’s time for some spring-cleaning. Moorestown Rotary AMP (Alternative Meeting Program) in conjunction with the Moorestown Department of Parks and Recreation will be hosting the First Annual Spring Clean-Up at the Swede Run Dog Park on Saturday, May 12 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.
The Moorestown Rotary Club is a non-profit organization that is very active volunteering and contributing financially to many organizations locally and globally. The sub-group, Alternative Meeting Program was formed to offer evening rotary meetings (rather than the traditional lunch-time meetings).
“When the AMP Rotary was developed, we were looking for a park of our own,” said Dee Bertino, a member of AMP. “The dog park was just being built, and we have a lot of dog lovers in the club so it was an easy project for us to get behind. It was a smaller park we could adopt right off the bat.”
The Moorestown Rotary has worked with animal shelters as well, donating dog toys they made themselves. At the opening of Swede Run Dog Park, AMP partnered with the Burlington County Animal Shelter who brought shelter dogs for adoption. The Rotary AMP will be maintaining the park with a yearly clean up together with spot checks throughout the year.
“The dog park has been very popular. The people who have been going seem to love it,” Bertino said. “They do keep it very, very clean which is great. People really do seem to be policing after their own dogs, which we’re really grateful for. You could go by there any given day or time and you’ll see from two to 15 people which is nice.”
The goal is to spruce up not only the dog park but also the surrounding area, which accumulates trash from Westfield Road. Bring gardening gloves for a little weed-pulling too.
“We’re just looking for people to come out,” Bertino said. “Bring your dog. Bring your kids. It’s for a good cause, and it doesn’t take very long. We’re hoping it will be a beautiful Saturday morning that we can all get together as a community and work together to get this done and enjoy our day.”
Why not do some good work, get some fresh air and continue on to the Moorestown Farmer’s Market or get some annuals and do some planting?
Community service hours are available to high schoolers. For more information please contact Dee Bertino at rdbertino@comcast.net or visit the AMP Rotary Facebook page.
