Tom Kenney walked along the woods meeting West Smith Neck Road. On his person were gardening gloves, a 40-year-old rake, and trash bags.

Kenney had organized a group of 12 for an Earth Day cleanup, and despite the wet, gray skies, the do-gooders worked for two hours on April 22, cleaning the streets and waterfront in their neighborhood.

"We started this [10 to 12] years ago, when it was really bad. We were pulling engine blocks out of the side of the road," said Kenney.

"We found a toilet once," his wife Anne Kenney chimed in.

Kenney said the annual tradition is now an event neighbors — including Gene Bergsons — look forward to.

"It's a great way to keep everyone working together to keep [the neighborhood] clean," said Bergsons.

Across town, the Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust had assembled a cleanup crew of its own. The nine-person group worked along Collins Corner Road and on the Ridge Hill Reserve trails. Volunteer Victor Mailey dug at a tire that was anchored in the ground.

"The very first Earth Day, people in Rhode Island were talking about putting solar panels on every roof. That was 40 years ago, and that still hasn't happened. So it's important to keep plugging away and keep taking care of the environment," said Mailey.

DNRT Land Manager Linda Vanderveer had sent her team out with trash bags for the two-hour cleanup, but that wasn't enough for volunteer Lee Wheeler.

"I have a very full bag and a heavy, heavy bucket," she said, listing nip bottles, coffee cups, styrofoam, and plastics among the mess.

"It's 2017. People should know better by now," Wheeler added.

The sentiment was shared by Suzanna Trimble and her husband Bill, who worked to clean up Hixville Road like they have for the past 10 years.

"We have a beautiful community. I hate to drive by and see garbage," said Trimble. "It's doing your part. It's an ongoing thing."

In an hour, the couple had picked up three bags worth of trash, a giant sign, and a steak knife.

"The [Department of Public Works] gives you bags, so you don't have to pay the $2," added Trimble.

Several of the crew members expressed the importance of having kids join the volunteer effort, or wished their grandkids were with them.

"They need to see [the cleanup] happening, and grow up with it," said Trimble.

The crews worked for hours before Mother Nature followed up with a spring rinse.

DPW staff will pick up the trash bags from designated locations on Monday.