On Saturday, April 23, more than 300 volunteers spread out across 14 different locations in Quincy, Dorchester, Milton, Mattapan, Hyde Park, Norwood, Walpole, Canton, and Foxborough to help clean up trash and debris along the Neponset River, its tributaries, and surrounding parks.

Managed by dedicated site captains and community leaders, the volunteers collected thousands of pounds of trash in a 3-hour period. This trash included 4 dumpsters full of debris, more than 350 bags of trash, 51 hypodermic needles, 40 diapers, 37 bricks, 34 tires, outdoor carpeting, 7+ metal pipes, 3-55 gallon drums, 2 Christmas trees, 2 street signs, 1 gerbil cage, 1 abandoned pontoon boat, 1 old computer, 1 lawn chair, 1 car fender, 1 car bumper, 1 car battery, 1 fire pit, 1 bed frame, 1 headboard, 1 shopping cart, a push lawn mower  — and lots of cigarette butts, nip bottles, masks, and plastic bottles!

Click here to see photos of the cleanup.

Thank you!

NepRWA is extremely grateful to all of the volunteers who participated in the cleanup, including photographers, Rafi Sofer and Clinton Osula, who captured the event.

A great deal of thanks goes to our presenting sponsor, ENE Systems, Inc., and cleanup sponsors GZA, Boston Society of Landscape Architects, and James G. Grant Company, Inc.

Thanks also to our cleanup partners, MA Dept. of Conservation & Recreation (DCR), Belnel Neighborhood Association, Canton Walk Bike Hike Committee, Canton DPW, City of Boston Parks and Recreation, Dorchester Running Club, Edgewater Neighborhood Association, Friends of the Boston Harbor Walk, Foxborough DPW, Hyde Park Central River Neighborhood Group, Milton DPW, Norwood DPW, and American Rivers

Let us know if you wish to volunteer for other NepWRA events!

We have many additional volunteer opportunities throughout the year, so be sure to sign up for our emails to stay up to date.

As a volunteer, you might:

• sample water at streams around the watershed
• work with other volunteers on a river cleanup
• staff an event table on behalf of the Watershed Association
• take photos of sites around the watershed for use in publications
• survey dams and culverts
• advocate for watershed protection
• assist with office projects

Get more information here or email NepRWA Environmental Scientist, Declan Devine, at devine@neponset.org