Muddy River Clean-up a Huge Success

Each spring, the Emerald Necklace Conservancy partners with the Charles River Watershed Association for the Charles River Clean-Up. The Muddy River, located in the Back Bay Fens, is a tributary of the Charles River. This year over 400 volunteers attended the annual Muddy River Clean-Up on Saturday, April 16, making 2011 the biggest Muddy River Clean-Up yet.

A total of 700 bags of trash and recycling were collected during the three-hour event. The 1,200 hours donated to the clean-up effort is valued at $31,416 according to the Massachusetts volunteer labor rate. “People really make a huge difference in those short three hours,” said Teressa Bryant, project assistant at the Emerald Necklace Conservancy, “and it’s extremely rewarding.”

In support of the Updated Massachusetts Bottle Bill, House Bill 890, several volunteer groups were given clear plastic bags to collect materials that could be returnable (such as sports drink bottles, flavored water bottles and more) with the Bill’s passage, but are not under the current Massachusetts law.

Groups participating included Boston Cares, Colleges of the Fenway, Genzyme, Georgetown Visitation Alumni Association and IBM, to name a few, along with individuals from the community and more than 100 students from Northeastern University. Table volunteers included Emerald Necklace Conservancy staff and members of the Husky Energy Action Team of Northeastern University, who helped register volunteers and distribute materials for the clean-up.

Several local organizations contributed in-kind donations to the event. The Whole Foods Symphony Store donated 400 Nature's Path granola and cereal bars, Stonyfield Farms gave out 200 yogurts and smoothies, and Shaw’s Supermarkets donated first aid supplies. Registration tables for the event were provided by Michael Berger of Simmons College. Thank you to our public partners for all their help, and a special thanks to our donors and volunteers for making this event a tremendous success. You can also read a Boston.com summary here.