At the end of last month numerous local individuals volunteered their time to help clean up the Connecticut River basin. This was part of the 23rd annual Connecticut River Conservancy’s Source to Sea Cleanup. Each year Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont volunteers met at the 410-mile riverbank for their day of work.
All sorts of people joined the event: those from different religious/faith organizations, environmentalists, students, community members and even business groups. Around 3,000 people come and help the cause, collecting a ton of non-biodegradable items including mattresses and scrap metal!
As well as this being a wonderful way for community members to come together it is also great for the environment which ultimately helps the economy too. Indeed, a study found: that:
“massive cleanup efforts can ultimately be preferable, from an ROI standpoint, to the industrial and residential development projects often favored above ecosystem restoration and conservation initiatives in highly polluted areas.”
This kind of environmental cleanup is hugely welcome and should be encouraged in other regions too.