Friday September 21, 2012

BRATTLEBORO -- Volunteers are taking to the Connecticut River for the annual Source to Sea Clean-up on Sept. 29, to have fun, get a little wet and to promote the fight against littering in its waters.

People come from all over the area where there are a few "hot spots" along the river. These are places where there are sightings of trash that has been disposed of improperly. Tips from sources allow volunteers to find these "spots" and focus on reaches of river that they are comfortable with cleaning up.

"It's their river. It's like painting your house. You want it to look good and be as healthy as it can," says David Deen, River Steward (D-Westminster), Connecticut River Watershed Council, when asked why so many people come out for the event.

The CRWC, a non-profit advocate oversees the project. The group is celebrating 60 years of working towards making the river cleaner. The event has been going on for 15 years, attracting local residents and businesses to rally together, removing trash from the River.

There are no particular areas that are focused on more than others, but generally volunteers go up and down the river cleaning up areas that need attention. All ages and abilities are welcome by the CRWC. It is a day of action as well as promoting the cause.

Deen also talked about how certain items, like tires, are still found. While it used to be closer to a thousand tires found in the cleanup, now there are only several

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hundred being cleared out. While fewer tires are being dumped in the river, but they are still among the items that are being found.

The CRWC is seeing improvement in from the Cleanup.

Among sponsors like NRG Middletown Power and TransCanada, Lane Construction, which is the parent company of Goldriver Materials, located in Walpole, N.H, and Silvernet are organizations involved in the Cleanup. The CRWC are hoping Green Mountain Power, which has helped in the past, will be a part of this year's event.

Anyone who has a trash tip should contact the CRWC at cleanup@ctriver.org or call 860-704-0057. The 2012 Source to Sea Cleanup is currently accepting registrations at www.ctriver.org. Businesses are also encouraged by the CRWC to participate.