The 40th anniversary of Earth Day is April 22. Residents from across the county are marking this occasion by hosting beautification projects in four Lehigh Acres neighborhoods from 8 to 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 24.

"Earth Day Trash Bash" participants will gather at Sunshine Boulevard and Sixth Street SW, where Weed and Seed volunteers will assign neighborhood locations and distribute safety bags, pickup sticks, trash bags, disposable gloves and drinking water. Lee County Sheriff’s Office employees will provide transportation to the sites. Families and children ages 6 and older are welcome.

Partners in this beautification effort include Keep Lee County Beautiful, Lehigh Clean Sweep, Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Lehigh Acres Weed and Seed initiative, a program where local residents are leveraging existing resources and joining forces with law enforcement to "weed" out criminal activity and "seed" social services and economic revitalization efforts.

In 2009, Weed and Seed organized five community beautification projects that attracted 258 volunteers and removed more than 10 tons of trash. Two additional beautification projects in 2010 resulted in 342 volunteers removing an additional 10 tons of trash. These efforts are increasing Lehigh Acres’ quality of life and pride in the community.

More than 160 volunteers are expected. Contact Deborah Sebastian at 810-1588, or e-mail her at eborahsCommunityProjects@yahoo.com"...@yahoo.com, for additional information.