You can too!

East Greenwich has 95 (95!) historic cemeteries and they get overgrown fast so when leaders of Cub Scout Pack 3 contacted the town about having their scouts do a clean up, they got an enthusiastic “Yes!” in response.

A week ago, 20 Cub Scouts from Pack 3 and family members took on the two historic cemeteries that sit side by side on Cedar Avenue west of Middle Road. Wearing masks and working in shifts of small groups, the boys and girls cleared the cemetery of leaves, sticks, branches and other brush.

They got to practice the ideal of leaving the world – and East Greenwich in particular – a little better than they found it, said Cubmaster Joe Carberry. Pack 3 is made up of girls and boys from kindergarten through fifth grade from East Greenwich and surrounding communities. Core values are citizenship, character, personal fitness and leadership, Carberry said. Pack 3 develops and instills these values with fun family events like camping, nature exploration, community engagement and service projects. Find out more about Pack 3 HERE.

If you are interested in doing a cleanup of your own, contact Town Planning Department’s Lea Hitchen, who works with the Historic Cemetery Commission. There are plenty of possibilities and she will help figure out which one is best for your particular group.

It doesn’t have to be an organized group that does a clean up, Hitchen noted. Church groups and scout groups may be the norm but it’s a great activity for neighborhood groups and for families. In addition, the cemetery commission can supply lawn bags for the clean up.

“We’re always looking for volunteers,” said Hitchen. “It’s a great time to get out there and really clean up now that the weather has cooled.”

Bring face covers, gloves, some rakes and perhaps a container of hot cider and have some fun while helping maintain our historic cemeteries.

You can reach Hitchen at (401) 886-8643 or [email protected].

Scouts clean up a Cedar Avenue historic cemetery.

Small but strong.

Historic Cemetery #23 post clean up.