Wildlands Conservancy and DCNR Joint River Clean-Up (16-July-2016)

The week before NCJCS started Rick Wiltraut from Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center asked if I would go along on a joint clean-up of the Wildlands Conservancy and the DCNR. It was during the week of NCJCS, but was on a day that I wasn't needed so I told him I would go along. We met at the Route 33 Access and I drove him and intern Cory up to the start point in Bethlehem at Sand Island. The Wildlands Conservancy had all of the canoes ready to go and their staff gave a safety lecture before we hit the water. I ended up paddling solo and that is how I prefer it on a clean-up, less people in a boat means more trash can be taken off the river. 

It did not take long for my boat to start filling up. The area along Sand Island and the old Bethlehem Steel Facility always hold a ton of trash. I would like to point out in this photo that the Wildlands Conservancy did provide separate bags for trash and recycling. The green bags used for recycling were also compostable and were something I had never seen before. 

The group that was along did an awesome job as well. Some groups I have been on the water with for clean-ups pick up only a few things per boat and call it a day. This group kept stopping and loading more and more into theirs. 

Here some of the participants are cleaning up in the shadow of the old Bethlehem Steel Facility. 

Not even to the end of Sand Island the front of my boat was getting packed. Already had one garbage bag tied off and the recycling bag was nearly full. 

Then we came across two things, one right after another, that I never like to see, but I am glad the group did. The first was the encampment above. It was made out of trash and branches, no one looked to be home. Many people do not realize that there is no adequate system in place to take care of those who end up homeless. With the time I spend by the rivers, I see these encampments often and I can tell you that the individuals that dwell in them do not have good lives. These camps are also detrimental to the riverbank as well. The trash is obvious, but these camps also displace wildlife, kill plants and can lead to erosion problems. This shouldn't be a problem in the modern world. 

This was the second thing we came across right after the encampment. This is a strainer loaded with trash. From the looks on some of the participants I could tell they had never seen anything like this before on the river. For me I've worked on worse this year. We took a few items out of here, but this is something that is not safe for a group to be picking through. I am going to try to return to this area in the near future to try to put a dent in the trash in this strainer. 

When we got to Freemansburg Island I paddled ahead and took the left channel down the the side of the island. I found some coolers and picked up a few more small items. The current on this side of the island pushed me way ahead of the group so I docked my boat at the end of the island and waited for them to catch up. 

Added a tire and a chair at this stop and my boat was pretty well loaded. 

The Jacobsburg staff had a good haul as well. Rick in the back Cory in the front. 

The last section was a bit tricky. Jet skis and motorboats kept passing by at higher speeds than they should have been with non-powered craft in the water. The trick with a boat loaded like this and a wake coming toward you is to steer into it so the bow of the boat is the first to hit the wake. If it hits you on the port or starboard side there is a chance you are going over. 

The group as a whole took a large amount of trash off the river. It is a start, but much more work needs to be done on this section. Thank you to Wildlands and the DCNR for making this clean-up happen. Special thanks to the Wildlands staff that were on the river! 

This Bald Eagle was a nice treat at one of the stops below Bethlehem.

You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project here: Help Fund Taking Out the Trash

Like this project? Like it on Facebook: Taking Out the Trash in Eastern PA