Ed Counsell picks up trash in the woods during the annual Friends of Springside Park spring cleanup on Saturday. “It’s a shame,” Counsell said of the trash. “It’s a nice little park, central to the city. There’s a lot of wildlife in there, and people just mess it up.”

PITTSFIELD — On Saturday, residents rolled up their sleeves to clean up Springside Park.

Pittsfield resident Ed Counsell was among them. He was dismayed at how trash has become an issue at the city park.

“It’s a shame,” Counsell said. “It’s a nice little park, central to the city. There’s a lot of wildlife in there, and people just mess it up.”

The efforts were a part of the Friends of Springside Park's annual spring cleanup. The three-hour event marked the 45th consecutive year of the volunteer effort.

“It’s just amazing to see the stewardship that the Friends of Springside bring to the park every day,” Jim McGrath, the city's park, open space and natural resource program manager, said. “This annual cleanup is a testament to their long-lasting efforts to improve the park.”

It was also held on the final day of Earth Week.

Karen Kalinowsky and her dog Zorro participate in the annual Friends of Springside Park spring cleanup on Saturday. The three-hour cleanup marked the 45th consecutive year of the volunteer effort, dating back to 1981.

During the cleanup, residents spread out across the park, going deep into the woods and walking on the beautiful trails. As of 11 a.m., there were 13 full bags at the starting point.

Bob Johnson represented the Berkshire Natural Resources Council at the event. During his time cleaning, Johnson said he saw everything from sleeping bags, blankets and socks to beer bottles.

McGrath said that Springside is the largest municipal park in the city and that the cleanup is looked at “as sort of an annual right of spring.” He also said that one of the amazing attributes of the park is that it sits just north of downtown and that it’s roughly 270 acres of “relatively wild landscape.”

Pittsfield City Councilor Kenneth Warren Jr. loads one of many bucket-fulls of trash during the annual Friends of Springside Park spring cleanup on Saturday. The three-hour cleanup marked the 45th consecutive year of the volunteer effort, dating back to 1981.

McGrath said that he, along with some volunteers, were able to clean up an abandoned encampment site, which he said was fairly fresh. “I’m glad we were able to get in there because it was kind of tucked away,” he said, adding that it was good to clean it before it got swallowed up by vegetation.

Alison McGee picks up pieces of trash from an area littered with food debris and trash during the annual Friends of Springside Park spring cleanup on Saturday. The three-hour cleanup marked the 45th consecutive year of the volunteer effort, dating back to 1981.

McGrath also highlighted recent improvements that have been made to the park with the restoration of Springside Park Pond on Springside Avenue and the opening of six new pickleball courts, which were both completed in 2024.

For Springside Park Pond, the dam was rebuilt, the historic footbridge was restored, and a wooden footbridge crossing the pond was built. The project, funded with federal American Rescue Plan Act money, cost about $580,000, McGrath said.

At the Friends of Springside Park’s annual spring cleanup on Saturday, volunteers fan out across the woods and fields of the park, picking up trash and debris as they go.

The six new pickleball courts at Benedict Road within the Doyle Softball Complex opened in June 2024. They have a spectator area, a shade structure, a parking lot and a welcome plaza. The project cost $520,000, taken from the city’s allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funds.

McGrath said that the city is currently renovating the Springside House, which is another long-term goal to “see that historic mansion put back into some kind of productive reuse.”

Springside House, located inside Springside Park, on North Street, was built circa 1856 and donated to the city in 1949. It served as the headquarters of the parks department from 1956 until 2007.

Counsell said that he’s participated in the cleanup for the last few years and said that it's important to clean up the park because “people are less likely to mess it up again.”

McGrath said that with each passing year, the park is getting cleaner.

“That tells me that there’s more care and importance put on our park system and value,” he said.