More than 100 volunteers came together in Montgomery County to make a major impact this Earth Day.
BetterPlanets4Kids, a youth-led initiative founded by MCPS student and Rockville native Raj Awasthi, organized a large-scale cleanup at Rock Creek Regional Park to mark the 56th annual Earth Day. According to Awasthi, over 100 youth and adult volunteers participated in the effort, helping clean approximately 1,800 acres of parkland. “100+ youth and adult volunteers joined hands together to clean 1800 acres of Rock Creek Regional Park to celebrate the 56th annual Earth Day,” Awasthi said. “This was BetterPlanets4Kids’ 4th consecutive year doing park cleanup and we’re only going to get bigger from here.”
The event continues to grow each year, with Awasthi noting the scale and youth-driven nature of the effort. “I’d like to believe this was one of, if not the, largest youth-led, student-focused cleanups in MD, and I’m looking forward to carrying on and expanding this tradition in the years to come,” he said.
Awasthi also thanked those who helped make the event possible. “Thanks to all the volunteers for the support and commitment and to our Maryland weather for not raining during the cleanup! Also, big thank you to our partners – Montgomery Parks, the Montgomery Volunteer Center, and the MCPS SSL office,” he added.
BetterPlanets4Kids was founded in 2022 when Awasthi was a seventh grader in the STEM magnet program at Takoma Park Middle School. Growing up in Rockville, he developed an early passion for helping children and addressing issues impacting youth, which inspired him to launch the initiative. Since its founding, the organization has focused on empowering young people to take action in their communities, with events like the annual Earth Day cleanup continuing to expand in both size and impact.
