Letter to the Editor: OARS Cleanup A Great Success

OARS held its annual river cleanup on Saturday, Sept. 17, which saw a great turnout of volunteers. Here, Carla Gomez and Julia Khorana of OARS thank all those who participated.

To the Editor:

Thanks to strong community support and beautiful weather, the was an outstanding success! We are very happy to say that on Saturday, September 17, over 130 volunteers came out to clean up the Assabet, Sudbury, and Concord rivers and their tributaries. Despite high water remaining after Hurricane Irene, volunteers in towns throughout the watershed pulled out piles of trash, including bicycles, tires, bottles, car parts, bags of bottles and cans — even a kitchen sink!

Some of our enthusiastic Concord volunteers combed the banks of the river, pulling out a substantial pile of debris. Another team paddled along the Sudbury River to retrieve garbage that had previously been scouted.

In addition to the volunteers who did the wet, dirty work, a large number of local businesses and town departments provided funds, materials, and physical support to make the cleanup possible. It was a wonderful example of what the community working together can accomplish.

Thank you to AstraZeneca, INTEL, Saint-Gobain, Digital Federal Credit Union, and Carlisle & Company for their support for our cleanup. We would also like to thank the following local sponsors: , Concord Acton Industrial Park, and Vibram. Thanks go to Concord’s Department of Public Works for disposal of the trash. Also thanks to and for providing food for the volunteers to enjoy at a pizza celebration after the morning of hard work.

While there remains a lot of trash to be pulled out of the river, we are pleased to find each year that the river is cleaner. We are grateful to everyone who helped with this annual work party.

Regards,

Carla Gomez, and Julia Khorana

OARS