Lane Construction Co. volunteers haul out trash from the Westfield River dike, including an oversized teddy bear, during the April river cleanup. (Photo submitted)
by Mark Damon and Sheryl Becker
WRWA cleanup coordinators
WESTFIELD – Spring is a wonderful time to celebrate the beautiful natural heritage of our region and an even better time to step in and clean it up. The Westfield River Watershed Association (WRWA) is so fortunate to have the help of hard-working volunteers who pitch in each year and help clear away trash from the watershed. This spring was no different.
In Westfield on a rainy, chilly Saturday in late April, we saw 38 citizens show up in the rain to help haul out debris from various locations along the river, including more than 20 volunteers from Lane Construction. Lane workers have been helping us with our river cleanups for several years and they even bring coffee for everyone! They were joined by ten dedicated students from Westfield State University and eight other caring residents who all got wet and muddy and still maintained good cheer and energy as they cared for their river. From the cleanup sites in Westfield, Russell and Huntington, the volunteers retrieved 69 bags of trash, a large teddy bear, 22 tires, a female mannequin torso, a half television, as well as wood, metal and large plastic pieces.
In Agawam the next day, 21 volunteers, including five Westfield State University students and members of the Agawam Conservation Commission, gathered at Pynchon Point for their assignments. These river-loving citizens hauled out 40 bags of trash, four tires, two computer monitors, two large pieces of Styrofoam, one tarp, one soggy blanket and a junction box.
WRWA will sponsor its fall river cleanup on Saturday, September 27 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. WRWA provides work gloves and trash bags and tracks the amount of trash the volunteers pick up, pooling its numbers with other groups within the larger Connecticut River watershed. In 2013, more than 45 tons of trash was removed from the rivers and watershed lands within the Connecticut River watershed stretching from Vermont to Long Island Sound. Our own Westfield River flows into the Connecticut River, making it an important part of that larger watershed.
If you would like to receive email notices about the fall Westfield River cleanup and other WRWA events, send a note to [email protected] with your name and town, and we’ll add you to our notification list. The power of many good citizens to help reverse the trashing of our watershed by the selfish few is another reason to celebrate spring in the Westfield River Watershed. Thank you!
For more information about WRWA and its events, visit www.westfieldriver.org.
