Bring gloves, good attitude to help clean up Riverwalk

If you're planning a stroll along Naperville's Riverwalk Saturday, you might want to bring a pair of garden gloves.

Spend any time along the scenic downtown path between 9 a.m. and noon and there's a good chance somebody's going to hand you a rake or a garbage bag and put you to work.

It's all part of the Riverwalk's annual spring cleanup project overseen this year by Naperville Park District.

The idea is to get as many volunteers as possible to help park crews start sprucing up the path after a rough winter and in preparation for a busy summer.

People of all ages are welcome to register by the Dandelion Fountain near Jackson Avenue and Webster Street, where they get their marching orders for whatever type of work needs to be done. Participants can donate as much time as they want during the three-hour blitz.

"Whatever time fits into people's busy schedules is fine with us and much appreciated," park district Operations Manager Chuck Papanos said.

The kind of work you're asked to do depends on several factors, including the weather, he said. If it's unseasonably warm, you might be asked to scrub plaques. If it's chilly, you might be asked to rake, spread mulch or collect litter and stray branches.

If it's below 40 degrees or raining at 8 a.m., the whole project will be scrubbed.

"The mailman may go through rain and cold, but we do not," Riverwalk Administrator Jan Erickson said.

Both Papanos and Erickson say the cleanup usually draws around 100 people, including Scouts working toward merit badges and high school students putting in required community service hours.

There also are a few families and groups that show up each year with a goal in mind -- such as sprucing up a particular garden.

Participants are asked to bring their own gloves -- nobody wants you to get blisters -- but park crews will provide any other equipment.

In addition to luring some volunteer labor, Papanos says the project also helps introduce many residents to parts of the Riverwalk they may not normally visit.

"If we send them to the extreme east or west ends, we may be showing them areas they aren't familiar with," he said.

This year's cleanup will be made a little trickier by renovation work along a two-block portion of the path immediately east of the Dandelion Fountain, but Papanos promises there will be plenty of other areas for crews to focus on.

He said he's far more concerned about the weather.

"We get what we get," he said, "but I'm looking forward to a nice spring day."

If you go

What: Spring cleanup along Naperville's Riverwalk

Who: Volunteers needed for park district-sponsored event

When: 9 a.m. to noon Saturday; people can work any shift they choose

Info: (630) 305-5984