Local River Cleanups Include Food, Drinks, Music, Prizes

GREENFIELD — The Connecticut River Watershed Council’s (CRWC) 19th annual Source to Sea Cleanup, taking place this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 25 and 26, will feature a number of fun activities for participants in addition to the trash cleanup.

Source to Sea Cleanup volunteers remove tons of trash along rivers, streams, parks, boat launches, trails, and more in all four states of the Connecticut River basin. All are invited to join the fun and be part of the effort to generate cleaner rivers. For more information or to find a local cleanup group, visit www.ctriver.org/cleanup.

“Thousands of volunteers from across four states come out on a single weekend to help clean up our rivers. They literally remove tons of trash every year. Their hard work and dedication is impressive and inspiring, and we want to do everything we can to make this effort fun, too,” said Alicea Charamut, CRWC river steward and cleanup organizer. To date, volunteers have prevented more than 897 tons of trash from polluting area rivers.

Participants who join the Green River Cleanup in Greenfield will enjoy food from a variety of local vendors, music from Tuff Riddim, as well as a post-cleanup celebration hosted by Leinenkugel Brewing Co. Cleanup participants who join the Jewish Community of Amherst at the Oxbow in Easthampton will be joined by the Northampton Brewery. Participants are also invited to the brewery after the cleanup for a post-cleanup celebration. These are just two of the many local cleanups happening all along the Connecticut River and streams this weekend as part of the Source to Sea Cleanup.

During the Cleanup, participants are encouraged to keep their cameras handy and snap lots of photos to submit in the Source to Sea Cleanup photo contest. Photos must be submitted through CRWC’s website, www.ctriver.org/cleanup. Public voting will determine the top 15 photos, which will be submitted to a panel of judges to select winners. Many prizes have been donated by a number of companies in support of the cleanup, including North Country Lodge & Cabins at the source of the Connecticut River in Pittsburg, N.H., as well as Cabela’s, Mount Washington Resort, Jiminy Peak, Adventure Park at Storrs, and more.

“In addition to removing tons of trash from our rivers, the Source to Sea Cleanup strengthens community and gives people an opportunity to improve their neighborhoods,” said CRWC Executive Director Andrew Fisk. “When people help clean their rivers, they make connections with each other and with their rivers. Those connections have benefits lasting well beyond the cleanup. That’s what it’s all about. And if you can have a bit of fun while you’re at it, then even better.”

Source to Sea Cleanup lead sponsors include NRG’s Middletown Generating Station, Pratt & Whitney, and TransCanada. To learn more about CRWC, visit www.ctriver.org.