Registration opening soon for April 12 volunteer event
When you’re planning a massive event involving 1,400 volunteers spread across 60-plus streamside sites in three counties, you’ve got to be well organized and pay attention to details!
That’s why RHA staff member Rachel Garcia and intern Drew Jacobs are deep into preparations for our annual Stream Cleanup, scheduled for the morning of Saturday, April 12.
Online registration for the event – which last year removed over 14 tons of trash and recyclables from the banks of local waterways – opens on March 1. The stream cleanup improves water quality, environmental health, wildlife safety and human health.
Rachel, a water resources associate and lead Stream Cleanup coordinator, and Drew, the event intern, have had lots to do in the weeks leading up to registration.
One of their biggest tasks has been choosing the sites to be cleaned up. The upper Raritan River watershed covers 470 squares in 38 municipalities in Hunterdon, Somerset, and Morris counties, and includes 1,403 miles of rivers and streams, as well as many lakes, ponds, and two major water supply reservoirs. Some sites will focus on land not directly connected to a waterbody, as trash on land ultimately makes its way into our waterways.
Rachel has 56 confirmed sites and will hopefully add another nine sites soon. Ideal cleanup sites need to have sufficient parking for volunteers, while not being too close to busy roadways or steep slopes. Local public works departments must be willing to cart away the bags of trash and recyclables, along with larger pieces of debris like tires and construction materials, once volunteers finish.
Drew, who came aboard in January, immediately went to work scouting potential sites. He discovered that some sites cleaned up in previous years remain so clean that no action is needed this year. On the flip side, some sites have a huge amount of garbage to be removed.
Stream Cleanup volunteers typically include local families, scout troops, churches, businesses, civic groups, schools, home school groups, environmental commissions, and individuals.
Each cleanup site has a volunteer leader, and Rachel is happy to report that 100 percent of last year’s site leaders said they want to return. Several groups, such as scout troops, have enlisted enough volunteers to reserve an entire site. But there is plenty of room for families, individuals, and smaller groups to join the effort!
Groups of up to five people can register online, but groups of six or more are asked to contact Rachel directly at streamcleanup@raritanheadwaters.org to be assigned to a site.
RHA provides everything needed by volunteers, including bags, gloves, reflective vests, trash grabbers and hand sanitizers.
Rachel, a resident of High Bridge, became RHA’s Water Resources Associate in 2024 after serving as Stream Cleanup intern. In addition to being lead coordinator of this year’s Stream Cleanup, she serves as Well Testing Assistant and Water Quality Technician for RHA’s science team. She grew up along the Delaware River and has always enjoyed nature and spending time outdoors. She holds a B.A. in biology with a minor in psychology from Rutgers University, and enjoys hiking, painting, cooking, and volunteering as a crisis counselor for a nonprofit.
Drew, a resident of Jackson Township, is a graduate of West Virginia University (WVU) with a B.S. in wildlife and fisheries resources. As Stream Cleanup intern, he conducts site visits, acts as a point of contact for municipalities, and helps with event preparations. Drew previously served as Outreach and Summer Program Coordinator for Friends of the Upper Delaware River and as a National Visitor Use Monitoring Program field interviewer for WVU. He is an avid fly fisher, and secretary and founding board member of the WV Native Fish Coalition.
