For 13 consecutive years, the weather mostly smiled on our annual Source to Sea Cleanup. Then came October 2010. Just before Saturday October 2nd several days of torrential rain in Vermont and New Hampshire sent the Connecticut River over its banks, floated farmers’ pumpkins downstream and created unsafe conditions for volunteers planning shoreline cleanups over hundreds of miles of waterways.

“Mother Nature is telling us to wait a minute and we’re listening” declared Chelsea Gwyther, CRWC President to Cleanup group leaders urging them to reschedule or shift their trash collections to areas away from the water.

Less-than-ideal weather the following two Saturdays put an additional damper on plans, but over the first three weekends in October nearly 1,400 volunteers in 69 groups removed 50 tons of refuse from the Connecticut River and its tributaries in CRWC’s 14th Annual Source to Sea Cleanup.

“Over the years, we’ve been blown away by the dedication and hard work of our Source to Sea volunteers,” says Jacqueline Talbot, CRWC 2010 Cleanup Coordinator. “Those who could adjust their schedules and follow through in the face of the weather conditions set a new standard for flexibility and determination. Sometimes that’s what the river asks of us, whether we’re working to reduce pollution, protect habitats, or improve our threatened fisheries.”

But while rain in the north caused postponements for groups in New Hampshire and Vermont on October 2nd,

many groups in Massachusetts and Connecticut went out before floodwaters reached the lower river. The Scantic River Watershed Association, for example, hauled out more than four tons of trash,

CT River, CT: Two friends with the Holistic Moms Network & Essex Sparkle Fairy group with their haul in Old Saybrook. Photo by John Stack

50 Tons Despite Rain

Cleanup ChronicleConnecticut River Watershed Council

Vol. 14, No. 1 14th Annual Source to Sea Cleanup October 2, 2010

surpassing their goal of 100 tons (now 101 tons and counting) in their many years of involvement.

Overall, trash totals were down. The weather certainly dampened participation and floodwaters stripped many shorelines of refuse before volunteers turned out. But fourteen years of Cleanups have resulted in “deep cleaning” at many high-use sites. Additionally, our call for scouting out new problem locations prompted 15 quality tips and we directed groups to some of them. Keep up that scouting! We’ve made note of the ones we couldn’t get to and hope to channel volunteers to those spaces for 2011. Also in the good news category: nearly 50% of participating groups recycled what trash they could.

Many groups reported that their most common items found were bottles and cans, beverage containers (especially Dunkin Donuts Coolattas), and Styrofoam. Among items listed as unusual on reporting forms were a coin from the Philippines dated 1945 in old coin collection sheets (we turned them over to Gill MA Police), part of a ceramic vase with dolphins, and an old car radio with plants growing out of it. (See page 2 for a more detailed breakdown.)

Many thanks to all our sponsors – NRG Middletown Power, our Title sponsor – and all our volunteers who are devoted to protecting and treasuring our irreplaceable Connecticut River watershed.

CT River, MA: UMass honors students cleaned up the Meadows in Northampton. Photo by Karl Moore

ITEM QUANTITY

Trash Tally 2010

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TOTAL HAUL = 50 TONS

Volunteers watershed-wide:

1,393

What’s the Message in the Bottle?

Last October, Bob Spooner and the Source to Sea Cleanup group at the NRG Middletown generating station headed out to tackle a new area. The group usually cleans Dart Island, just downstream from the company’s site on the Connecticut River. Instead, they went after the trash that had accumulated on the shore right next to the plant on River Road, including a sizeable deposit of plastic bottles.

“We’ve found notes in bottles before, so I didn’t think too much of it,” recalled the NRG plant’s environmental engineer recently. “But I could see the paper in this bottle was dry, so I opened it up. The note was in good shape, and it was from a young boy at a school upriver, asking that whoever found it get in touch with him. As a dad of two little fellows myself, I thought that he needed an answer.”

Bob wrote to the school address on the message and received a letter in return from a teacher who had worked

with the student the year the bottle was dropped in the river – in 2001, at a boat launch about 50 miles upstream from Middletown. The student, then a second grader, is now in the 11th grade.

The written message in that bottle was a simple one – basically, “please let me know when and where you find this.” But what other messages are in that plastic bottle?

It says that trash can stay in the river for a long, long time and continue to negatively affect water quality and habitats, for humans as well as wildlife. And it can take a long time for trash to wind up in a location where it can be found and removed before it goes on to join the swirling islands of trash floating in the oceans. And it reminds us that what happens to the river in one place has impacts on many other places downstream, and that we are each temporary stewards of the river as it moves on beyond us in place and time.

The clearest message of all is that every plastic bottle pulled from the Connecticut or its tributaries by CRWC volunteers brings us all one step closer to realizing our vision of a clean River for us and our children for generations to come.

Actual numbers are higher as several groups did not itemize their findings. Like items (couch, table) have been grouped into general headings (furniture).

Nearly half of participating groups separated and recycled the trash they collected. Let’s try to increase that by 10% in 2011!

Empty plastic bags 2,915

Automotive (including 450 tires) 642

Building / Construction Materials 556

Balls and toys 404

Fishing Gear 365

Illegally dumped garbage bags 305

Diapers 202

Furniture / Household Items 196

Clothing 189 + 3 bags

Personal care products 174

Glass bottles 116

Sporting goods, camping etc. 104

Electronics 93

Shopping Carts 67

Bicycles 32

Boating parts 31

Rotted food 45 bags

Appliances 30

Hazardous materials 18 + 1 truck load

CT River, CT: A mem-ber of the Sparkle Fairy group examines trash in Old Saybrook. Photo by John Stack.

Source to Sea Cleanup 2010

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NEW HAMPSHIRE - 39 volunteersCold River Materials/Lane Construction Corp, Chase Lone Scouts, Cub Scout 223 and Girl Scouts, Greater Upper Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Lyme School, the Armstrongs

VERMONT - 162 volunteersBlack River Action Team, Black River Produce, BUHS Preserve Our Planet, Cory Stark & Family, HB Energy Solutions, Newfane River Rats, Putney Rowing Club, Randolph Rotary & Interact Club, Rockingham Conservation Commission, SIT/West River/Southeastern Vermont Watershed Alliance, Sonk Team, The Nature Museum, 21C ExCEL, Weathersfield Neighborhood Greenup Association, Weathersfield School 7th Grade, Weight Loss Support Network, West River/Southeastern Vermont Watershed Alliance (WRWA/SeVWA), White River Partnership, Vermont Academy, Vermont Law School

MASSACHUSETTS - 715 volunteersAcademy at Charlemont, Amherst Unitarian Universalist Society, Babbott-Bryan Family Cleanup, Belchertown Boy Scout Troop #57, Bernardston Brownie Troop 40235, Boy Scout Troop 303, CCHS-CTE, Chicopee Comprehensive High School, Commonwealth Honors College-UMass Amherst, Con-Test Analytical Laboratory, CRUSH, Cub Scout Pack 301, Deerfield River Watershed Association, Eaglebrook School Mountain Club, FirstLight Power Resources, Franklin County Rotary Club, Franklin County Solid Waste Management District, Franklin County Technical School Landscaping shop, Friends of the Great Falls Discovery Center, Friends of the Green River, Gill Elementary School 6th Grade, Girl Scout Troop 235, Girl Scout Troop 40088, Greater Northfield Watershed Association, Greenfield Middle School 6th Grade, Green River Cleanup, Green River House, Haulers, Hilltown Charter School, Holyoke Friends of the River, ITT Watermark/Power Solutions Green Team, Linden Hill School, MA Department of Conservation and Recreation, Mohawk Ramblers, MontagueMA.net volunteers, Montague Mountain Goats, Northfield Elementary School, Northfield Mount Hermon School, Northfield Mountain Recreation & Environmental Center, North Hadley Congregational Church, Phi Sigma Kappa (UMASS), Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club/Pioneer Valley Yacht Club, RLC, RP, Rendezvous Staff, Second Congregational Church of Greenfield, Smith & Wesson, South Hadley Pack 301, Splash It Don’t Trash It, Trial Court Community Service Program, Troop 235, Unitarian Society of Northampton & Florence, United Water, Venture Crew 303, Western MA Electric Company, Westfield River Watershed Association

CONNECTICUT - 477 volunteersBeat Bike Blog, Boy Scout Troop #44, Boy Scout Troop 108, Boy Scout Troop 540, Chase Collegiate, Clean RiversProject of East Windsor, Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District, Cromwell High School Ecology Club, Cub Scouts Pack 40, East Hartford Hockanum River Commission, Ellington Hockanum River Committee, Farmington River Watershed Association, 4H Club, Friends of the Canal, Glastonbury High School Interact Club, Hockanum River Linear Park Committee, Holistic Moms Network & Essex Sparkle Fairy, MDC Cleanup Crew, NRG Middletown Power, Park River Watershed Revitalization Initiative, Rocky Hill High School Lend-a-paw, Scantic River Watershed Association, Sierra Club’s Inner City Outings: Hartford, Sopneski & Hillhouse, The Academy School, Tidewater Institute, Town of Windsor, UCONN Graduate Students, University of Hartford, Wethersfield Parks & Recreation, Whole Foods, Windsor Locks Conservation Commission

See the Source to Sea page at www.ctriver.org for group lists by town and more Source to Sea photos.

CT River, CT: Cromwell High school Ecology Club students gather around a tire and other trash. Photo by Jacqueline Talbot

CT River, MA:Sarah Zuraw of the UMass honors group finds a new use for old bed springs. Photo by Karl Moore

Cold River, NH:Volunteers from Cold River Materials/ Lane Construction. Photo by Richard Ewald

The Cleanup Chronicle is printed courtesy of

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CRWC thanks our 2010 Source to Sea Cleanup sponsors NRG Energy, Inc., owns and operates one of the country’s largest and most diverse power generation portfolios. NRG’s power plants provide more than 24,000 megawatts of generation capacity – enough to supply more than 20 million homes. “We’ve participated in this great volunteer effort for many years,” says Plant Manager Jeff Araujo of NRG Energy’s Middletown Station. “NRG is pleased to once again be the title sponsor and work side-by-side with the Watershed Council and the huge wave of volunteers doing good work for our rivers.” For more information, go to www.nrgenergy.com.

Title Sponsor:NRG Middletown Power

The Lane Construction Corporationranks among the top 50 contractors specializing in transportation projects. Committed to using recycled materials and manufacturing green building materials, Lane’s corporate values include being a good neighbor, giving back to the community, and protecting and enhancing the environment. Learn more at www.laneconstruction.com.

Covanta Energyis an internationally recognized energy-from-waste company and a recipient of the Energy Efficiency Award by the US DOE. Covanta Springfield serves 16 communities by accepting their waste (after reduction, reuse and recycling happens) and turning the remainder into clean, renewable energy. Located near the Connecticut River, the facility supports a variety of environmental activities. Find out more at www.covantaenergy.com.

The Metropolitan District (MDC)has provided clean, clear water and other services to improve the environment for nearly 80 years. They provide water, sewer and household hazardous waste collection services to eight member municipalities and supply treated water to portions of several other Connecticut communities. The MDC’s Clean Water Project is working to reduce sewer overflows and the amount of nitrogen discharging to Long Island Sound. For more information, visit www.themdc.com.

www.ctriver.org 15 Bank RowGreenfield, MA 01301(413) 772-2020

TransCanadaowns hydroelectric stations, storage reservoirs and dams in NH, VT and MA, producing 567 megawatts of clean electric power. Proud of their environmental record and the partnerships they’ve developed in the region, TransCanada is a leader in responsible development and reliable operation of North America energy infrastructure. To learn more, visit www.transcanada.com.

American RiversAubuchon HardwareC&S Wholesale GrocersCold River MaterialsConcept2 RowingFriendly Ice Cream CorporationKatz HardwarePublic Service of New HampshireTighe & Bond, Inc.Smith & BishelSovernet Communications

Wanna Get Your Feet Wet and Hands Dirty Again? Join us for our 15th cleanup on October 1, 2011!