Registration is now open for the Connecticut River Conservancy's Source to Sea Cleanup. The annual event, now in its 22nd year, has grown into New England's largest river cleanup and won the American Rivers award for most miles cleaned in 2017. CRC invites volunteers to continue the tradition of getting dirty for cleaner rivers on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 28 and 29.
There are three ways for volunteers to get involved in the Source to Sea Cleanup this year: Report a trash site in need of cleaning, find a nearby cleanup group to join, or organize and register your own local cleanup group. For more information or to register for the event, visit www.ctriver.org/cleanup.
“The Source to Sea Cleanup strengthens community and gives people an opportunity to make a difference,” CRC Executive Director Andrew Fisk said in a news release. “When people help clean their rivers, they make lasting connections with each other and with their rivers.”
The annual Source to Sea Cleanup is a two-day river cleanup coordinated by CRC in all four states of the 400 mile Connecticut River basin. Each fall, thousands of volunteers of all ages and abilities clean the Connecticut River and its tributaries on foot or by boat. Volunteers remove trash along rivers, streams, parks, boat launches, trails, and more.
In 2017, more than 2,500 volunteers hauled over 46 tons of trash from river banks and waterways in the four river states. Volunteers remove everything from recyclables, fishing equipment, and food waste, to tires, televisions, and refrigerators. To date, volunteers have removed more than 1,043 tons of trash from our rivers.