Earth Headz organizers cleaning up in parks across Toronto

By ERIN HORROCKS-POPE

A group of young environmental activists are dusting off their gloves and grabbers for a summer of cleaning up Toronto parks.

Founded in 2019, Earth Headz is a social group that brings young adults throughout Toronto together to clean public spaces on a mission to keep communities clean and vibrant.

Though COVID-19 restrictions meant no clean up events for 2020, Earth Headz has announced their comeback starting with a community session and clean up at Dieppe Park in East York on May 8.

Earth Headz was created after three friends from East York, Nick Chronis, Dan Howes and Alec Phillips, tweeted out an invite to an impromptu park clean-up on Cinco de Mayo, 2019.

“We had 10 people at our first meet and then we went out for tacos,” said Howes.

“It was very surreal. Like, we really just had people pick up garbage in a park, from a tweet. The whole thing just sparked from there.”

Something that has united Torontonians across all demographics throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been spending time outdoors and a renewed sense of communal responsibility for maintaining public spaces.

With more people seeking out Toronto’s greenspaces over the pandemic, there was a massive increase in outside trash last year, especially in high-traffic public spaces such as Woodbine Beach or Trinity Bellwoods Park.

“Cleaning up garbage isn’t going to fix our climate issues,” said Chronis. “But it sends a really impactful message of what people can be doing or who they be contacting to make a bigger difference.”

This summer, Earth Headz will be at a different Toronto park every weekend to host physically distanced litter clean ups and engage in community discussions about climate change, and you’re invited.

Earth Headz 2021 Summer Roster

 

DATE	LOCATION
Sun, May 8	Dieppe Park – Clean Up & Community Session
Sun, May 14	Kew Gardens – Clean Up
Sat, May 29	Stan Wadlow Park – Clean Up
Sat, June 05	Trinity Bellwoods Park – Clean Up
Sun, June 13	Monarch Park – Clean Up
Sat, June 19	Riverdale Park – Clean Up
Sun, June 27	Thorncliffe Park – Clean Up
Sun, July 04	Topham Park – Clean Up
Sun, July 11	Greenwood Park – Clean Up
Sat, July 17	Woodbine Beach East – Clean Up
Sun, July 18	Woodbine Beach West – Clean Up
Sat, July 24	Dentonia Park – Clean Up
Sun, Aug 08	Trillium Park – Clean Up
Sat, Aug 14	Fairmont Creek & Small Park – Clean Up
Sun, Aug 22	High Park – Clean Up
Sat, Aug 28	East Lynn Park – Clean Up
Sun, Sept 12	Stan Wadlow Park – Community Session

 

For more information about Earth Headz, please go to https://twitter.com/earthheadz

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