River Cleanup '07

On the morning of Sunday, October 28, NepRWA Volunteers gathered together at the Central Ave. bridge that spans the Neponset river between Milton and Mattapan.

Donning gloves, rubber boots and in some cases even chest waders, they removed garbage from the river. Mangled, rusty grocery carts made up the bulk of the litter, but car and truck tires appeared as well, along with rusted-out safes, bikes, car parts, a vespa, and a variety of other man-made materials. In the end, the pile of removed garbage was the same height as a fully grown man! Consider that the only equipment these volunteers used was a tow rope (thank you, Fran!), garbage bags, a drill, strategy and muscle-power.

NepRWA offers a heartfelt thank you to all the river cleanup volunteers and to the Milton Department of Public Works and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation for their willingness to help. We're also grateful to the kind passerby who returned with muffins and donuts for the volunteer crew.

Please join us next time - there really isn't a better way to spend a weekend morning in early fall, cleaning-up the river, joking with new friends, and reveling in the sun. Be a part of things; get on NepRWA's event e-mail list by contacting Carly at rocklen@neponset.org.

	Neponset River Cleanup Central Ave. Bridge Milton/Mattapan October 2007



NepRWA Environmental Scientist Bill Guenther suits up	NepRWA Board Member Pete Kane prepares to don chest waders


Fran O'Neill and Pete Kane unwrap a trashed vespa after a group effort hauled it up the steep river bank	Fred Twigg-Taylor cleans the Boston-side river bank


Wendy Ingram cleans Milton-side river bank	Neponset neighbor Minna Popkin and son search out garbage


Julie Kane rolls a tire from river bank to junk heap


Lower Mills resident checks out the growing junk heap on the side of Neponset River Greenway


Looking down on a grocery cart removal "assembly line" up river bank	Top of the assembly line, pulling on tow rope


Young Neponset River warrior	A growing junk pile heavy with mangled grocery carts


Julie drills into a tire to facilitate water drainage	Fran O'Neill pauses in the river


Removing an old, rusted safe beneath Central Ave. bridge


David Conant removes silt-filled shoulder bag...	and returns to remove more garbage


Junk pile continues to grow....


Jim Kaemmerlen and Wendy Ingram strategize cart removal up river bank	Jim takes a break


Steven Kane waits to haul more debris up river bank	Standing by mountain of removed trash


Peter and Steven Kane say goodbye	Ready for the Milton DPW to pick-up!


Bill Guenther	Jim Kaemmerlen


Wendy Ingram describes the work of NepRWA	Most of the shopping cart dam has been removed!


Leftover shopping cars beneath Central Ave. (for next time!)	Looking upstream
Thank you to everyone for your help. Updated October 2007