Greenfield, MA – The Connecticut River Watershed Council’s (CRC) 19th annual Source to Sea Cleanup, taking place this Friday & Saturday, September 25 & 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 (NH, VT, MA, CT). You are invited to join the fun and be part of the tremendous effort for cleaner rivers. For more information or to find a cleanup group near you, visit 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,” says Alicea Charamut, CRC River Steward and Cleanup organizer. To date, volunteers have prevented more than 897 tons of trash from polluting our rivers.
Participants who join the Green River Cleanup in Greenfield, MA will enjoy food from a variety of local vendors, music from Tuff Riddim, as well as a post-cleanup celebration hosted by Leinenkugel Brewing Company. Cleanup participants who join the Jewish Community of Amherst at the Oxbow in Easthampton, MA will be joined by the Northampton Brewery. The Northampton Brewery invites participants to the brewery after the cleanup for a post-cleanup celebration. Participants who join the Scantic River Watershed Association in Enfield, CT will enjoy refreshments as well as a post-cleanup celebration hosted by Leinenkugel Brewing Company. Middletown, CT is hosting a city-wide cleanup and will be joined by the mayor. These are just a few of the many local cleanups happening all along the Connecticut River and streams this weekend as part of the Source to Sea Cleanup. To find out more about these groups or to find another cleanup group you can join, visit ctriver.org/cleanup , click on “Join a Group” and scroll down to the map of groups.
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 CRC’s website: ctriver.org/cleanup. Public voting will determine the top 15 photos, which will be submitted to a panel of judges to select winners. Many great 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, NH and other great prizes from 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,” says CRC 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.”
CRC thanks the Source to Sea Cleanup lead sponsors—NRG’s Middletown Generating Station, Pratt & Whitney, and TransCanada—for their generous financial support.
The Connecticut River Watershed Council works to protect the watershed from source to sea. As stewards of this heritage, we celebrate our four-state treasure and collaborate, educate, organize, restore and intervene to preserve its health for generations to come. Our work informs our vision of economic and ecological abundance. To learn more about CRC, or to join the effort and help protect our rivers, visit ctriver.org.
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