Three dozen young people and community volunteers collected 15 bags worth of trash during a cleanup of the Pond Lily Nature Preserve.
They picked up on behalf of afterschool program Solar Youth’s biannual day of service earlier this month at the preserve, one of several trips the nonprofit organizes for its young members. Pond Lily, a 14-acre tract of protected forest and wetlands, runs through the McConaughy Terrace housing development off Whalley Avenue.
Led by educator Nicole Peruso, Solar Youth’s environmental “stewards” made sure neighbors living in the family development had clean backyards.
Around 500 local young people participate in Solar Youth programs each year.