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Volunteers Take Part in Cleanup of Vermont's Black River

Posted on: Sunday, 28 August 2005, 21:00 CDT

Aug. 29--SPRINGFIELD -- Standing on a rickety bridge spanning the Black River by the Springfield Shopping Plaza, Bill Mitroff takes a breather and considers the shopping cart he has just pulled out of the water with a grappling hook.

It will be one of at least eight he expects to hoist during the day.

"I wish they'd throw in the plastic ones," he said. "They're a lot lighter."

Mitroff was one of more than 50 volunteers who turned out on Saturday morning in Springfield and Ludlow for the annual Black River cleanup. This was the sixth year for the Black River Action Team's environmental effort.

In that time, volunteers have seen everything from bowling balls to auto parts sunk in the river.

It was the shopping carts, however, that motivated BRAT organizer Kelly Stettner to expand the effort after the second year.

"The second year, we pulled out 75 shopping carts behind what is now Brooks," Stettner said. "That actually got me really fired up. I said, 'Why are these things here? We've got to get them out. This is crazy.'"

On Saturday, Springfield volunteers paddling in canoes and raking the shores came across the usual cigarette butts, fast food wrappers and shopping bags.

But the veterans of river cleanups all have a story of some bizarre piece of garbage they came across.

Nelia Sargent of Claremont said she pulled something out of the Connecticut River during a cleanup last weekend that nearly sank her canoe.

"I found an overstuffed large armchair last weekend," Sargent said. "I wasn't sure it would even fit."

Sargent has volunteered with the Black River cleanup for two years. She came to preserve a natural resource and "be part of the solution rather than the problem." She also learns something about human nature each time.

"It is quite an education, (discovering) what we choose to toss," Sargent said.

Parents brought their kids for the early morning effort and a group of 10 Cub Scouts from Springfield Pack 258 also came ready to collect garbage.

Andrew Clark of Springfield brought his son and daughter, ages 8 and 6, along for the education.

"It teaches the kids responsibility," he said. "To take care of the planet and local community."

The volunteer base has grown nearly every year, Stettner said. This is the first year the cleanup expanded outside of Springfield. Stettner said it made sense to go to Ludlow, which is upstream and in desperate need of attention.

"It was a natural progression," Stettner said. "We have enough interested volunteers and awareness, let's expand the effort."

Nearly all of the funding for the cleanup came from donations, with some grant money arriving through the Connecticut River Joint Commissions, Stettner said. Volunteers take the garbage to the Chester Recycling Center and transfer station in Ludlow.

Some of the same items turn up each year but Stettner said she doesn't let it bother her. She believes they are making gains, one shopping cart at a time.

"Generally speaking, we've been making dents," she said. "The numbers have been going down ... I think we are really making a dent."

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Copyright (c) 2005, Eagle Times, Claremont, N.H.

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Source: Eagle Times, Claremont, New Hampshire

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