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A Date to Clean Up the River in Essex

Area residents looking to do their part and help keep the waterways and land masses in and around the Connecticut River clean and free from trash and debris can sign up to be part of the Source to Sea Cleanup Day with the Connecticut River Museum, on Saturday, Sept. 28.

Three, one-hour sessions will be offered, starting at 1 p.m. Participants will meet at the museum and be shuttled over to Nott Island, where clean up projects will be underway.

“This is a great event to have the public gain awareness of the health and history of our river,” said Connecticut River Museum education coordinator Steve Sarnoski. “At one time, the health of the river was not great. Thankfully, right now we are at a good place in regard to the river’s health and we want to keep it that way. One way we can do that is through programs like this one, that encourage people to be aware about the garbage and trash in and around the river and to be proactive about cleaning it up before it becomes a problem.”

The Connecticut River Museum cleanup is part of the annual Source to Sea cleanup of the entire Connecticut River system. Held each fall, thousands of volunteers head out to places of their choice all along the four-state watershed of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut. In 2018, more than 2,800 volunteers pulled more than 46 tons of trash from more than 175 miles of river banks and waterways.

The Connecticut River Museum clean-up event is one of many planned; for information on other sites, visit www.ctriver.org. There also is a clean up planned in Deep River, being coordinated by The Valley Stands Up (thevalleystandsup@gmail.com) on Saturday ,Sept. 28 from 10 a.m. to noon, focused on Pratt Cove and the nearby Connecticut River.

Ultimately, the goal of the clean-up is to keep the water clean and ensure that the river banks are safe and trash free for the wildlife in the area. The project is set up by the Connecticut River Conservancy and it is sponsored by businesses, watershed organizations, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of America, school groups, municipalities, and community members.

All the trash collected from Nott Island will be sorted, weighed, and recorded. The items that can be recycled will be and the rest will be brought to Essex town dump.

For more information or to sign up to be part of the clean-up, visit www.connecticutrivermuseum.org.