Community prepares Earth Day programs Robot to teach the value and benefit of a clean environment BY JENNIFER KOHLHEPP Staff Writer NORTH BRUNSWICK — Although the nation celebrates Earth Day today, the township began new environmentally conscious initiatives on Sunday. In conjunction with Earth Day and in an effort to improve the overall quality of life for township residents and visitors, the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Services kicked off a series of a new program aimed at cleaning up the community this week. DPR&CS Director Lou Ann Benson initiated a partnership with the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center on Route 130 last month that will allow men and women on probation to perform community service by picking up trash around town. About 30 men and women removed litter and other debris from the jughandle stretch of Route 1 across from the Wal-Mart shopping center on Sunday, Benson said. "The drastic difference their efforts made in the area should encourage all residents and travelers to refrain from tossing litter out of their car windows," Benson said. Benson worked with MCACC Warden Ed Cicchi to recruit the cleanup crew, which consisted of men and women convicted of various traffic violations who need to perform community service as part of their probation. "In my department’s effort to uphold the mayor’s focus of improving the overall quality-of-life issues in our township, we thought we could make our community look more appealing and offer these people a good way to perform their community service," Benson said. Since taking office in January, Mayor Francis "Mac" Womack has implemented a number of programs aimed at improving areas in the township. The police department has focused its efforts on removing abandoned vehicles from township roadways. Womack’s administration has also worked with residents and owners of township apartment complexes to improve lighting, ground maintenance and safety issues in the developments. DPR&CS will continue to work with the workhouse to remove litter and debris from other areas in town, Benson said. On Saturday, the crew will remove trash from the area between the Board of Education office and the Pulda Farm property off of Old Georges Road, Benson said. "We are going to take a strong stand on litter and clean up the areas that have unnecessarily become eye sores in this community," Benson said. Residents can help by picking up de­bris around their neighborhoods, Benson said. "Imagine the difference it would make if every resident picked up 10 pieces of trash this Earth Day," Benson said. "We could really make a difference if we all worked together." Also in honor of Earth Day, DPR&CS partnered with the Middlesex County Improvement Authority (MCIA) to offer residents fun and educational programs to help keep the community clean. "We want to educate as many resi­dents as we can about our community and planet’s environmental needs," Ben­son said. The two free programs will take place in the courtroom of the municipal build­ing at 710 Hermann Road on April 26. Both half-hour sessions will feature MC Blue, an interactive robot that will teach participants about recycling. The first session, appropriate for prekindergarten to second-grade age chil­dren will take place from 6:30-7 p.m. During Planet Beauty, the robot will encourage audience participation and conduct a game show that teaches kids about recycling bottles, cans, newspaper and mixed papers, Benson said. The second session, which will take place from 7:05-7:35 p.m., will entail a hands-on explanation of the recycling process appropriate for third-grade age children and up. During Recycling Show and Tell, au­dience members will have the opportu­nity to touch useful items made from re­cycled materials, while MC Blue ex­plains the recycling process.