Passaic River Clean Up
LivGreen teamed-up with Great Swamp Watershed Association (GSWA) and Roots & Shoots for their first-ever full Passaic River cleanup in honor of world-renowned environmentalist and conservationist, Jane Goodall!
10 sites were identified in multiple local parks and dry land sites along the Passaic River that needed some attention. When trash collects in these areas along the stream banks, it will eventually make its way into the water, polluting the river and impacting local wildlife. These types of cleanups make a big impact on the health of the river as a whole.
LivGreen co-ran the South Orange Avenue Hub with John Guarino from SeedEd. 17 wonderful volunteers joined us from Livingston, Somerville, Florham Park, Roseland and West Orange. Starting at the Canoe launch we navigated the pathways, poison Ivy and avoiding any ticks reclaimed 15 trash bags of litter, half of a car, a full porcelain toilet and a lot of metal pipe. We couldn’t wrestle the tires out of the ground this time - but Kiran did manage an entire tailgate and an exhaust!
The clean-up gave such a sense of community and we are so grateful to everyone who participated and for all their hard work.
We look forward to continuing to partner with GWSA and recommend this experience to anyone who wants to join next year! GWSA’s staff are amazing and did a fantastic job to coordinate this event which spanned 10 different sites along the Passaic River. It’s a great testament to the ripples of good Jane Goodall continues to spread.
There was a celebration picnic that followed and we hope to make it there next year for treats and debriefs on all the unusual items that were discovered!
The clean up sites included:
Newark Riverfront Park – Raymond Blvd, Newark
Kearny Riverbank Park – Passaic Ave, Kearny
Riverside County Park: South – Riverside Ave, Lyndhurst
Pulaski Park – 4th St., Passaic
West Side Park – Totowa Ave, Paterson (pending checking with parks about current construction)
Kayak Launch for Great Piece Meadows – Camp Ln, Fairfield
Canoe Launch – South Orange Ave/ Columbia Tpke, Livingston
Shepard Kollock Park – Parrott Mill Rd, Chatham
Union County Passaic River Picnic Area – Stanley Ave, Summit
This event is hosted by GSWA – a Passaic River Waterkeeper Alliance Affiliate and Roots & Shoots New Jersey, a chapter of Jane Goodall’s community-based youth organization, with help from our AmeriCorps New Jersey Watershed Ambassadors.
