The Wareham community went all over town picking up trash and debris along its streets, parks and beaches to help keep the town clean as part of the biannual tradition known as Don't Trash Wareham.

The event took place Saturday, Sept. 21 and Sunday, Sept. 22, but according to one of the founding members of the event, Nora Bicki, most people were out Sunday due to the rain on Saturday.

In 2015, a group of Wareham residents, including Bicki, noticed the town looked "a little trashy," and they wanted to do something about it.

"We as a group of citizens decided that we could get the community together to help cleanup the town, and we did that," said Bicki. "The community came out and they created teams and neighborhood groups and started cleaning up."

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bicki and other coordinators organized two cleanups a year, one during the fall and the other during the spring. Over time, Bicki saw people take ownership of their areas.

"Between the cleanups, they would just keep the areas clean," said Bicki. "Our biannual cleanups weren't that big because people kept cleaning regularly."

Maintaining an ongoing cleanup process is important, Bicki explained. Litter attracts litter, so when there's less trash visible, it makes people less likely to litter.

"I'm hoping that this fall cleanup will encourage more people to participate and that [the cleaning] will be ongoing and we will get back to a much cleaner and beautiful town," said Bicki.

While Bicki suspects this fall's cleanup did not draw as many people as previous cleanups had, around 200 townspeople were able to get out and help pick up around town.

Rick Foley of Wareham was cleaning around Swifts Beach where he realized there was more trash at the beach than he thought.

"You come down the beach and you don't see a lot of stuff, but as soon as you start walking around, it's unbelievable how much nasty stuff you can find," said Foley.

Cleaning up the town is one of the major goals of the event, but Bicki recalled how fun it can be.

"Even just today we were having fun," said Bicki. "It's what you find sometimes. We have found a toilet and a bowling ball in the past. You wouldn't think that picking up trash is fun, but because you're with friends and neighbors and community groups, it is fun."

One group that was out cleaning Sunday was the Wareham Tigers Cheer Athletics Association. Cheerleaders and parents from the group gathered at Swifts Beach where they walked along the shoreline looking for trash.

The association’s president, Damon Solomon, picked up trash with the kids and parents. He explained that as a part of the team, the girls have four hours of community service they need to complete, but picking up trash was also about building strong relationships with each other.

"We're a family on and off the mat," said Solomon. "We're not just numbers and athletes. We're all family so we all get together and do these kinds of things because we want to maintain that family mindset."

Fifteen-year-old Lydia Kirkland cheers for the association and said the experience was "really fun.”

“We're having a lot of team bonding," she said.

Bicki and other event organizers plan on hosting a spring cleanup.