What an amazing community event! The level of support, cooperation and the volunteers’ joy was evident throughout the entire day! The Franklin/Green River Cleanup began on Wednesday with the Four River Charter School tackling three wetland sites near the Mohawk Trail. On Friday a large contingent of volunteers from Eaglebrook School cleaned a tributary along the Mohawk Trail, while the Center School scoured a creek leading into the Green River off Elm Street.
On Saturday the morning began at 7:30 a.m. with the Sheriff’s Department and several volunteers and dump trucks picking up compiled trash throughout the greater Greenfield area. A massive crowd of approximately 300 volunteers with trucks arrived at 9 a.m. for breakfast and staging before going out to nearly 40 sites in Greenfield and Franklin County! Trucks began to roll in about an hour later, loaded with trash and debris from the various sites. The garbage pile grew throughout the morning. Photos of before and after shots of cleanup sites were breathtaking! Lunch was provided by area restaurants at noon, with music by The Boys of The Landfill!
This years’ effort included extensive planning with the mayor’s office, City Council, DPW, Sherriff’s Department, Opiod Task Force, Unhoused Committee, CRC, and the DRWA. I would like to thank the following businesses, schools and groups for their generous support of time and resources: USA Hauling, Franklin County Sherriff’s Department, Kyle Nartowitz Tree Service, Barlow Paving, Fairview Landscaping, PV Squared, Greenfield Recreation Dept., Tapestry, Firstlight, Greenfield Recorder, WRSI, WHAI, WHMP, 95.3 Bear Country, Bag Ladies, Trout Unlimited, GCC, Greenfield High School, The Center School, NMH, DA, Charlemont Academy, Eaglebrook School, Cub Scout 3, Four Rivers, Bement School, GS Troop 64980, Unhoused Committee, Antonio’s Pizza, Dunkin Donuts, Shelburne Falls Coffee Roasters, Clarkdales Fruit Farm, Foster’s Supermarket, Subway, People’s Pint, DeAngelos Sandwiches, New Fortune, Ryan and Casey’s, Real Pickles, Pierce Brothers Coffee, Adam’s Donuts, Copy Cat, and Greenfield Savings Bank. A special thank you to Marion and Will, Ron, Betsy, Denise, Fran, Lucy, and the lunch support, Charlie and the Supersorters, Mike Pattavina and the Boys of the Landfill, Stacey and the CRC staff, state Rep. Natalie Blais and state Sen. Jo Comerford, and all the wonderful volunteers who support clean water!
We are water and water is sacred. The Green River water is pure grade A as it enters Greenfield. Thirty-fiver percent of Greenfield’s water is from the Green River. We drink this water Greenfield! It becomes polluted and poor quality as it enters the Deerfield River at the southern end. At a time when our environmental laws are under attack, we need to continue to build our support for our rivers and watersheds! Thank you to everyone who helped make this years’ cleanup a success! See you next year!
John David Boles, Franklin/Green River coordinator
Greenfield