Hundreds of volunteers clean up Duluth neighborhoods, waterfront on Earth Day

At Rice’s Point, where Duluth’s industrial waterfront meets Lake Superior shipping traffic, nearly 100 volunteers spent Earth Day clearing winter debris and litter from one of the city’s most visible working shorelines. The cleanup drew support from about 15 businesses in the Rice’s Point Business Group, which represents roughly 50 businesses on the waterfront, and marked the group’s sixth Earth Day cleanup.

The difference was easy to see. In the early years, organizers dealt with piles of garbage and even dumped couches. This year, the work was more about stripping away the winter’s worth of accumulation and keeping the shoreline presentable for workers, visitors and anyone moving through the port area. The turnout also topped last year’s, when the fifth annual cleanup drew about 80 people, showing that the effort has grown as the site has become cleaner and more manageable.

Kate Ferguson of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority said the repeated cleanup efforts have made a real difference at Rice’s Point. That matters in a place where the condition of the shoreline is on display every day, not just to port workers but to anyone who sees the waterfront as part of Duluth’s identity and economy.

Across town, CHUM coordinated cleanup work at multiple locations and brought about 25 volunteers into the effort. The crews did more than pick up trash. They also cleared invasive species before spring growth took over, a reminder that Earth Day work in Duluth often blends litter removal with environmental restoration. Bud Trnka, CHUM’s events coordinator, said the organization relies on volunteers to cover larger areas and make a visible difference as the weather warms. So far in 2026, CHUM has had 347 volunteers contribute around 1,500 hours of service.

CHUM’s role in the cleanup carried added weight because the organization serves more than 8,000 low-income, homeless, hungry, isolated or otherwise marginalized community members each year in Duluth. The sites it tends to are not just public spaces, but pressure points where neighborhood appearance, social need and day-to-day upkeep overlap.

The Earth Day turnout came during a broader Earth Week run by Ecolibrium3 from April 17 to April 25, its sixth annual campaign. Based in Duluth’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, Ecolibrium3 says it works at the intersection of economic vitality, ecological sustainability and equity, and its schedule included cleanups, EcoFest, a book swap, age-friendly housing discussions and urban farm tours. Keep Duluth Clean, a city-wide effort focused on reducing littering and illegal dumping, has pushed the same message from another angle: Duluth’s public spaces improve most when residents and organizations show up to do the work themselves.