ANDOVER — Superintendent John Lavoie is pleased to share that Greater Lawrence Technical School students participated in a cleanup of Spicket River last month.
On Sept. 21, about 16 students in the school’s Interact Club and two staff members participated in Groundwork Lawrence‘s annual cleanup of the Spicket River.
The school got involved with the initiative through English teacher Chris Cyr, who is also the advisor of the Interact Club, the school’s community service-based organization.
When Cyr initially became the club’s advisor about ten years ago, he was seeking ways to extend the club’s community outreach and discovered Groundwork Lawrence’s annual Spicket River cleanup project.
The school has been involved with the project every year since.
Students and staff who participated in this year’s event were assigned a small portion of the river to collect debris. Students worked in the rainy weather to remove many large pieces of debris from the water and the river banks such as bikes, furniture, electronics and other large ticket items.
After the event, organizers from Groundwork Lawrence expressed their gratitude for the hard work and commitment of the participating students.
“Your kids were rock stars at the Spicket River cleanup today. In a one-block area we pulled over 300 needles out of the riverbanks of the Spicket River and we filled almost a 20 yard dumpster with debris that the kids literally pulled out of the river and the riverbanks. They were incredible,” said Martha Leavitt of Groundwork Lawrence.
Brad Buschur, one of the two site captains, added “Groundwork Lawrence is incredibly appreciative of the GLTS students and teachers, Chris Cyr and Kurt Hood, who continue to show up in support of this annual cleanup event in our city.”
“We are so proud of our students for going above and beyond for the community,” said Superintendent Lavoie. “This is a great initiative that demonstrates the power of community and teamwork. I am grateful for our students and staff members who continue to participate.”
