17th annual River Sweep cleanup a success

The 17th annual River Sweep cleanup effort took place Sept. 17-22 along the Connecticut River Watershed in both New Hampshire and Vermont.

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2016-10-11 / Local 17th annual River Sweep cleanup a success Black River Action Team volunteer Mo Stettner hauls tires out of the Black River during the 17th annual River Sweep Cleanup for the Connecticut River Watershed. — COURTESY OF KELLY STETTNER Black River Action Team volunteer Mo Stettner hauls tires out of the Black River during the 17th annual River Sweep Cleanup for the Connecticut River Watershed. — COURTESY OF KELLY STETTNER The threat of rain didn’t keep dozens of volunteers from signing up to walk and paddle stretches of the Black River in a four-pronged effort to clean junk from the bed and banks of our beautiful waterway. The 17th annual River Sweep cleanup effort took place Sept. 17-22 along the Connecticut River Watershed in both New Hampshire and Vermont. Students from the Cavendish Elementary School again stepped up to remove all manner of garbage from a historic swimming hole. In partnership with the Town of Cavendish, the kids gained access on foot and their “findings” were taken to the town’s transfer station for disposal. A separate crew of adults and teenagers paddled from the Paddock Road bridge down to Hoyt’s Landing in Springfield, collecting tires, traffic cones, and even a water-logged old couch cushion from the soft bottom of the river. Rebecca and Aaron Weinstein, with son Kai, joined Jeff Semprebon of Claremont, New Hampshire, and Mo Stettner with friend Alyssa Bangerter in getting “down and dirty” to haul out the heavy junk while wearing smiles. Springfield Plaza once again hosted the HQ table for 34 volunteers working in the lower reaches of the watershed. Nancy Heatley of Weathersfield worked along Route 131 in that community, gathering multiple bags of litter and trash to bring back to the Plaza HQ. A crew of employees from Imerys not only manned the Ludlow HQ, but also spearheaded the cleanup effort on the ground. The trash list included a lawn mower, lawn chairs, fencing, pieces of plastic roofing, five bags of plastic bottles, two dozen tires, a bicycle, a pink lawn flamingo, an entire cake, some 40 bags of household trash, a car jack, three hub caps, PVC piping, and more. The trash tally becomes part of the overall list of junk removed in the larger Source-to-Sea cleanup by the Connecticut River Watershed Council. The Rolling Resource Center was on hand in Springfield, staffed by Jan Lambert of the Valley Green Journal, offering a look through the microscope at various river creatures Lambert had collected that morning. Volunteers were kept hydrated through generous donations from Big Eyes Bakery of Ludlow and by Shaw’s of Springfield. Snacks were provided by Deep River Snacks. Lunch was donated in Springfield by the Young family of Youngs Furniture and Appliance and in Ludlow by Goodman’s American Pie. The Black River Action Team thanks each and every volunteer (many new faces as well as lots of “return customers” this year), as well as all donors large and small.