STROUDSBURG, Pa. — Signs of spring are starting to pop up all over downtown Stroudsburg, and unfortunately, so is the litter.
The Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau hopes to do something about it with their annual springtime cleanup.
"It's not just the tourists that are coming in. It's the people that live here, and we want to make sure that everyone loves and values where they're visiting, where they're living, and really just trying to keep everything clean and green," said Brian Bossuyt, executive vice president with the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau.
The event is part of the bureau's "Pick Up the Poconos" campaign in honor of Earth Day.
Wayne, Pike, Monroe, and Carbon counties are all taking part.
On the website to sign up, volunteers can choose from several townships or locations to clean up.
Trash bags, gloves, vests, and other supplies will be given to volunteers.
"We have a lot of people that are very excited to be volunteers," Bossuyt said. "They've been with us since the beginning. We have organizations that do this regularly, so we really want to have a great time to really just get people out. And it's really just effort were doing as much as we can all the time."
Main Street in downtown Stroudsburg is one of the areas volunteers are looking to tackle. Business owners say they're thrilled about the extra help.
"Nobody likes to look at trash, and as much as the street cleaners like to sweep up, they do a great job whenever they can. On the weekends, with the influx of tourists and things like that, it gets a little bit messy so. We really appreciate them coming down and helping us out," said Lisa Diemer, owner of Kitchen Chemistry.
Cleanup day is April 23, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
After the cleanup, volunteers are welcome to an Earth Day Celebration at Pocono Organics in the afternoon.
The deadline to sign up is Monday, April 18, by 5 p.m.
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