The Great Pumpkin Pick Up

The Town of Thurmont is hosting the third annual Great Pumpkin Pick Up for all households within the city limits. Sponsored by the Thurmont Green Team, volunteers will be combing the streets of Thurmont with trucks, trailers, and even car trunks, on Saturday, November 23, from 8:30 a.m. until finished, picking up fall pumpkins and gourds and diverting them from the landfill.

The pumpkins will be delivered to The Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and area farms, providing food for animals and entertainment for the zoo animals who have been observed batting them about. Pumpkins, while compostable, emit methane when decomposing, contributing to climate change, and every year millions upon millions end up in landfills. 

Town residents need only to place their pumpkins—large and small—on the curb by 8:30 a.m. on November 23, and volunteers will do the rest. This volunteer event is perfect for families, environmental groups, civic clubs, and youth seeking to earn community service hours. For more information or to volunteer, please contact Green Team Member Sabrina Massett at 240-357-8752, by email at [email protected], or just show up at the Town of Thurmont office parking lot, located at 615 E. Main St. at 8:00 a.m. on November 23 to receive instructions. Volunteers from Emmitsburg and the surrounding communities are encouraged to participate. Past pickups included volunteers from The Thurmont Grange, 4-H Clubs, church groups, and the Emmitsburg Lions Club.

As you are thinking about taking down the fall decorations and decorating for Christmas, please do your part to save a pumpkin and provide food for animals. An unexpected benefit from the pumpkin deliveries has been reports by farmers of pumpkin plants springing up from discarded seeds, bringing the cycle of a pumpkin’s life full circle.