WILMINGTON — As trees bud and flowers bloom across the region, a less beautiful symptom of spring is cropping up near local roadsides and waterways: trash uncovered by the winter melt. On Saturday, a group of volunteers in Wilmington is set to gather and beautify the town on Saturday ahead of the busy summer tourist season.

“Because we don’t really have (community service clubs), it has to be grassroots, locals saying ‘Let’s do something,'” said Wilmington Supervisor Favor Smith.

Smith said it’s been a while since the last Wilmington town cleanup. This year, however, locals came to the town council and expressed an interest in restarting the tradition, which Smith said the town plans to make an annual event, like Lake Placid’s village cleanup and the AuSable River Association’s cleanup.

The event isn’t as sophisticated as the Lake Placid village cleanup, which features a variety of prizes for volunteers, Smith said.

“We’re going to have to grow it,” he said. “(This year), we’re just trying to see if we can get a toe in.”

It’s a great way for people to participate in community service and spend some quality time with their neighbors, he added.

“Some of these residents have been in the community for a long time and miss the opportunity for us to get out,” Smith said. “It’s a very beautiful place. There is a lot of winter roadside debris. People will do this on their own because they’re just motivated. … They want to get out and clean their own stretch of highway. There’s still quite a community of people who are year-round residents here.”

Anyone is welcome to join the cleanup. Volunteers are asked to meet at the pavilion at the Wilmington Town Beach at 9 a.m. on Saturday and wear gloves and brightly colored clothes so they’re visible to passing cars. The town has a supply of trash bags donated by the Adirondack Sports Council to collect the trash. Routes will be determined by how many volunteers show up.

“Keep your fingers crossed for nice weather,” Smith said.