First Selectman David Bindelglass and State Rep. Anne Hughes are partnering with Connecticut Clean Communities to host a cleanup day along the Easton Reservoir to commemorate World Water Day.
Connecticut Clean Communities is a non-profit organization that champions environmental responsibility through education, public outreach and training, as well as by holding community cleanup events across the state. World Water Day, held on March 22, is an annual United Nations Observance to highlight the importance of fresh water and to inspire action to tackle the global water crisis.
Easton’s event will be held on Sunday, March 24 from noon to 2 p.m. The meeting point for the event is in front of the Easton EMS building at 448 Sport Hill Rd. Volunteers must register in advance on the Connecticut Clean Communities site through the link online here. Information and cleanup maps are provided with registration.
Volunteers will pick up litter, trash and debris in the area near the Easton Reservoir to prevent any of it from getting into the the aquatic ecosystem, said Linda Knauff, executive director of Connecticut Clean Communities.
The Easton Reservoir is a 485-acre body of water with a dam built in 1926 by the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company as part of a project to provide the city of Bridgeport with a reliable source of water.
Connecticut Clean Communities will supply the equipment necessary for the cleanup.
“We provide tools, vests in case our volunteers are working near the road, water, sunscreen and bug spray. But if folks have a personal preference that would be something they want to bring on their own,” said Knauff.
The organization also addresses concerns about the physical labor involved.
“What sets us apart is our volunteer experience. We’re making sure our volunteers aren’t breaking their backs bending over and picking up trash,” said Knauff. “We have a great partnership with Garbo Grabber that helps us pick up trash and hold open trash bags to make the event more impactful on the environment and less impactful on our volunteers’ backs.”
Hughes was instrumental in bringing the organization and the cleanup event to Easton. She has coordinated her own Earth Day cleanups with constituents along Route 58 which borders the reservoir.
“Connecticut Clean Communities reached out to me, as I have been submitting testimony and letters of support for a number of clean water initiatives at the legislature, and I advocated for them,” she said.
Hughes said she and Bindelglass chose Easton as the cleanup site because the town doesn’t have a regular community cleanup of the roadways that border its reservoirs.
“Some of our surrounding towns do annual spring litter pick up,” Hughes said. “So I am thrilled to partner with Connecticut Clean Communities, with support from Easton’s town leadership, to provide the equipment, volunteer support and logistical coordination to launch this annual community cleanup of Easton’s watershed and reservoir and roadsides.”
The event may be one-of-a-kind for now, but it could be the spark Easton needs to hold cleanup events on a regular basis.
“There has been a lot of legislative testimony submitted and advocacy from the Easton community to protect our watershed and reservoir sources, and I want to harness that collective commitment to our watersheds and drinking supply, and to protecting the environment,” said Hughes.
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