Often good stories have a bittersweet side to them, I guess one could argue that there is always a silver lining to an otherwise undesireable tale too. I wouldn’t categorize removing trash from a watershed as an undesireable story, it falls more in line with being a positive experience, even though at the same time it is rather sad that we have to take part in something that seems so easy to prevent.
The 2021 First Annual Farmington River Cooperative Cleanup is now in the rearview mirror, and it was nothing short of an absolute show of force. People came out in droves to help give one of New Englands most visited rivers a well needed seasonal cleaning. 170+ people comprising 70 teams descended upon the river and did their part to remove a very considerable pile of trash from the river; an entire 30 yard dumpster’s worth. Read that again; An entire 30 yard dumpster’s worth of discarded items that very easily could’ve been properly disposed of, but were instead carelessly left behind was taken from the river.
This tremendous heap of garbage only took 4 hours to compile while every team hoped to win the bragging rights of the top team prize; the Golden Broom award. Although it warms the heart of many that a large contingent of people volunteered their time on a picture perfect April morning to pick up trash, it is also a cold reminder that we as people have a long way to go in our efforts to protect our environment.
Like anything, it can always be better and our hopes for next years Second Annual Cleanup is that we bring in many more volunteers, but also have the opportunity to clean up some different sections of river as well. To all of you who helped out, donated or even just helped promote the event we thank you all for your generocity and we hope to see you all next year. And to all of you out there who routinely pick up garbage on the river whenever you’re out there, your efforts are not unnoticed and we thank you as well for all that you do to keep the Farmington river a beautiful place to recreate.
Photos courtesy of Matt Vinick