After a long winter that battered the local landscape, Westbrook is looking for the community’s help to clean it up.

City staff and volunteers hope the community clean-up day, Saturday, May 9, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., beginning in Riverbank Park, will help restore the annual effort following a less-than-desirable turnout last year.

Lynn Leavitt, Westbrook’s recycling coordinator, said Monday that last year’s turnout was “poor” due to the original date being rained out, causing organizers to reschedule.

“It’s sort of a project that’s being brought back to life,” she said about the event.

Leavitt said this is the third year of the rejuvenated clean-up, adding that a core group of residents were responsible for getting the event restarted.

“It’s great to know we have that community interest,” she said, citing the often-difficult task of rounding up volunteers for an event that involves picking up trash. “Hopefully we’ll have a good turnout.”

The city has promoted the event with an online flyer and help from the Downtown Westbrook Coalition. Leavitt said the city gave the option to pre-register for the clean-up, but expects most volunteers to simply arrive at the park Saturday.

“Every year we have this, it will become more of a habit for the citizens,” she said. “We’re looking forward to this year and year’s ahead.

Abigail Cioffi, the coordinator of the Downtown Westbrook Coalition, said Tuesday that the coalition has assisted in brainstorming ideas for this year’s event, such as encouraging groups from businesses to form teams, as well as promoting the event. She also said there are plans in the works for a larger event next year.

Cioffi said that during a recent coalition meeting, there was “a lot of excitement for building it into a ‘Green Festival,’ which the coalition will definitely support.”

“We’re very excited for the event this year and for planning an even bigger event in the future,” she said.

Leavitt said once participants arrive at the park Saturday, they can either split into teams or decide which areas to tackle. There will be areas designated for families with children that are away from main roads.

She said there are high-priority areas that often have “litter issues,” including Eisenhower Drive, Main Street and the railroad tracks.

“It’s an awfully easy place to toss stuff, because it’s not very visible,” she said.

A team will also take on trash pick-up on the riverwalk, she said, which is also regularly cleaned up by volunteers at My Place Teen Center.

Leavitt also runs the Sustainable Westbrook Facebook page for the city, where she posts information on recycling and other tips for residents to consider.

Two women, above, enjoy a mild Wednesday on the riverwalk in downtown Westbrook, a section of the city that is regularly cleaned by My Place Teen Center volunteers. Staff photos by Andrew RiceTrash and debris line a bush on the edge of William Clarke Drive. Staff photos by Andrew Rice