News and Events : News 03-04

Press Release September 11, 2003

NMH Students Assist with River Cleanup 

NORTHFIELD —Each fall, volunteers from around Franklin County haul tons of trash—garbage, tires, furniture, appliances, you name it—from the Connecticut River and its tributaries as part of the Source to Sea Cleanup. Under the sponsorship if the Connecticut River Watershed Council, a group of dedicated citizens are once again organizing this year’s event, to be held on Saturday, September 27 from 9 am to noon. To register for the cleanup, call Northfield Mountain at 413-659-3714.

The Franklin County committee is seeking 200 volunteers to help with the effort, which kicks off with a morning sing-along celebration led by local environmentalist and songwriter Peter Siegel. A great deal of preparation takes place prior to cleanup day: up to 30 sites along the river are identified and assessed for safety; trucks—one from Northfield Mount Hermon and several, including a crane, from the 181st Engineer Battalion of the National Guard—are lined up to haul trash; and disposal sites are secured. This year, Northeast Utilities, B & M Railroad, Northfield Mount Hermon, and Deerfield Academy will provide dumpsters, and the Town of Greenfield will accept trash from their community at its transfer station.

Others help out by donating gloves, bags, first aid equipment, and drinking water. To get in the spirit, students from Northfield Mount Hermon warmed up for the Source to Sea Cleanup at their own all-school service day earlier in September and will wear specially-designed T-shirts. The Great Deerfield River Tire Removal Extravaganza, organized by members of the UMASS Astronomy Department, will once again devise catamarans to haul tires out of the Deerfield River . Last year they pulled out 71 tires and this year they’re shooting for 100.

The Franklin County Source to Sea Cleanup organizing committee includes Beth Bazler, of Northeast Utilities’ Northfield Mountain Recreation & Environmental Center ; Carolyn Boardman of the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge; David Ziomek of Montague Economic Development & Industrial Corporation and MA Department of Conservation & Recreation; Annette Mackin Wadleigh, Director of NMH Outreach; and Annie Chappell, a natural history illustrator.

This effort is just one of the many area-wide community cleanups scheduled. The Connecticut River Watershed Council is organizing a four-state trash pickup along the Connecticut River and its tributaries on Saturday, October 4. Those wishing to volunteer outside of Franklin County or for the October 4 Cleanup can call the CRWC at 413-772-2020.

Please contact Beth Bazler at 413-659-4461 or any of the above for more information.

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