Press release: for immediate release

Greenfield, MA. October 2, 2009.
Predictions of wet weather are not getting in the way of tomorrow’s planned four-state Connecticut River Watershed Council Source to Sea Cleanup, “Barring thunderstorms or any safety concerns due to the weather folks will be out cleaning up riverside sites tomorrow morning,” says Chelsea Gwyther, CRC’s Executive Director, “River volunteers are a pretty hardy bunch. They don’t mind getting wet for a good cause.” As of today, nearly 3,000 volunteers had registered for the fall spruce-up along the 410-mile Connecticut.

“We’ve only fielded a few calls about the rain,” says CRC’s Outreach Director and Cleanup Coordinator Christine Luis-Schultz, who has registered 94 volunteer groups from Pittsburg, New Hampshire to Old Lyme, Connecticut since late August, “Our group leaders are keeping an eye on things. Where there’s a question of safety, they will make the determination for their site about calling their people in. But where the issue is wet feet, these folks probably know more about getting their feet wet than most. They are people we can count on.” Any groups that do reschedule are asked to track the amount of trash they collect and report it to the Watershed Council to be added to the final trash tally. For information on the 13th Annual Source to Sea Cleanup go to ctriver.org.

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For press information contact: Chelsea Gwyther, Executive Director, CRC, at: (413) 772-2020, ext. 202, or cgwyther@ctriver.org, cell: 413-658-8552; or Christine Luis-Schultz, Cleanup Coordinator, CRC, at: (413) 772-2020, ext. 201, or cluis-schultz@ctriver.org, cell: 413-262-5448; also, Karl Meyer, Communications, at: 413-772-2020, kmeyer@ctriver.org.

In Massachusetts: Andrea Donlon, River Steward at: adonlon@ctriver.org, or 413-772-2020, ext. 205, cell: 413-512-1281

In Vermont and New Hampshire, David Deen, River Steward, at: ddeen@ctriver.org; or phone: 802-869-2792; or Richard Ewald, Director of Planning and Development, rewald@ctriver.org, 413-772-2020, ext. 206, cell: 802-376-3854.

In Connecticut: Elisabeth Cianciola, Acting River Steward, at: ecianciola@ctriver.org, or 860-704-0057, cell: 203-530-7270.

The Connecticut River Watershed Council has been a non-profit advocate for the 11,000 square-mile watershed of the Connecticut River emphasizing fisheries restoration, erosion prevention, land conservation, and water quality since 1952.