by Julie Gowel ·
Friday, May 22, 2026
Volunteers for the annual townwide cleanup in April learned exactly what ends up along Harvard’s roadsides, trails, and public spaces over the course of a year: a little bit of everything.
A plastic eyeball. A sofa cushion. A golf club. Multiple pairs of underwear. A broken postal crate. A negative COVID test. A sawhorse.
That’s not even all of the oddities found by the nearly 200 volunteers that turned out to clean up 70% of the town’s most frequented areas. This year’s annual initiative took place from Thursday, April 23, through Sunday, April 26, coinciding with Earth Day, on the 22nd. Volunteers reported collecting 258 bags of trash, down from last year’s 294 bags, along with pulling a great deal of the invasive garlic mustard weeds sprouting up around town.
The multiday event drew a broad mix of community volunteers, including Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, Bromfield National Honor Society students, families, and neighborhood groups. The Cub Scouts alone fielded 16 volunteers across several locations, while the Harvard Family Association brought 13 participants to the cemetery in the town’s center. Organizers also gave special recognition to Jordan Smith, who singlehandedly cleaned Mass. Ave. from Westward Orchards to the Boxborough line, saying, “It looks amazing.”
While the numbers tell a story of neighbors taking pride and ownership in their community, the volunteer comments collected on the online sign-up forum and given to the Press by cleanup organizers tell a far more entertaining tale of the fun people can have while picking up trash. This year’s efforts turned some participants into amateur roadside anthropologists trying to decode the habits of the town’s messiest passersby.
“Smirnoff vodka is by far the most popular alcoholic beverage of Brown Road drivers,” said Christopher Chalifoux, who reported finding many nips along his route.
“Pall Mall cigarettes were a favorite for a frequent driver of Stow Road,” said Christine Roy.
One of the Harvard cleanup group organizers, Libby Levison, had a very specific grievance: “Aroma Joe’s cold drink cups are evil. They shatter, not break,” she said of her finds on Old Shirley Road.
Some of the most commonly reported items were the usual suspects: nip bottles, cigarette butts, fast-food packaging, and drink containers. Alcohol nips appeared so frequently in volunteer reports that several residents began offering their own tongue-in-cheek market analysis. One volunteer counted 21 nip bottles along a single stretch of Ayer Road, while another discovered “a perfect pile of 12 bottles” on Poor Farm Road. Fast-food debris, crushed coffee cups, plastic bottles, and crash-related auto parts also made regular appearances.
“Mostly the expected amount of booze containers and a handful of plastic chunks from cars [and] a negative COVID test, so good news there,” said John Cushing, who cleaned Whitney Road. “Four bags of cans, nips, and auto parts,” added Anne Bohan of her finds at the intersection of Poor Farm and Ayer roads. “One bag of trash, one bag of garlic mustard, and one car bumper left from a winter crash,” found Robin Carlaw on Woodchuck Hill Road.
Carrie Fraser tidied Still River Road, pulling a sawhorse from a swampy section of land adjacent to the road, and was negatively rewarded for her efforts when a car driving past threw McDonalds leftovers out the window where she was collecting trash.
For many volunteers, litter wasn’t actually the biggest problem. Instead, the aggressive invasive weed garlic mustard was the day’s dominant adversary.
Kit Holland, who cleaned Mettacomet Path, said she came across so much garlic mustard and poison ivy, she was unable to remove it all and planned to return “on her own time” to finish the job. “Too much to pick,” reported Marisa Steele, who was working on Ayer Road. Dana Oliver, while clearing Myrick Lane, reported “Many more patches this year.”
Other residents found a reduction in the amount of garlic mustard from previous years. Bob Abraham, in his description of Finn Road, said he collected one and a half bags of the weed, which was less than he pulled last year. Lynn Adler made the same observation of Stow Road.
And amid the stories of discarded booze containers, mystery underwear, and roadside oddities, one comment offered perhaps the best reminder of why people keep showing up. “Lots of friendly people saying thanks,” said Forsgard.
For a few spring days, Harvard’s annual townwide cleanup served as an environment initiative and a scavenger hunt. Somewhere out there, someone is still missing a plastic eyeball, and their undergarments.