On April 11, over 70 volunteers cleaned up a mile stretch of the Green River and adjacent bike path. Two 30-yard dumpsters donated by USA Hauling were filled to the brim with trash and garbage that has accumulated along this stretch of the Green River for decades. Potentially 25 tons of trash! This debris was located right on the shore of the Green River, in an environmentally sensitive area that is also a flood plain. Without this cleanup, all this trash and hazardous material would eventually wash into the river. Over 70 shopping carts had accumulated in this area. The team contacted the various businesses and the Sheriff’s Department returned the carts. This area is a destination for the unhoused. With woods and water and a concrete path, it is amazing to see how much human material can end up in a beautiful area like this. 

Several volunteers waded into the river to pull out garbage, mattresses, and shopping carts! The cleanup included large structures encased in tarps that are the size of several rooms, 600-plus propane tanks, numerous full gasoline and oil cans, couches, bureaus, broken electrical equipment, discarded bikes, waist deep trash, human feces etc.

It is important to note that the Green River’s water quality goes from pure to poor as it meanders through the city of Greenfield and empties into the Deerfield River. The volunteer team supported the three unhoused people who are still camping there. Their site was completely cleaned and made safe. Any tents and belongings that were not destroyed by the winter were left with the area around them completely cleaned. 

The unhoused problem is unfair to the person who is disenfranchised. Most unhoused folks I speak with have been waiting for housing for years, feeling they get little or no help. They have fallen from the fragile safety net that is already at a breaking point. They are provided little or no safe place to stay and lack support for the basic human resources of shelter, water, toilet facilities, garbage disposal, and social services.

This Green River Cleanup was a great example of community cooperation and support. Thank you to all the incredible volunteers, and the following resources: USA Hauling, Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, Kyle Nartowitz Tree Service, (and family), PV Squared, Tapestry Health, Greenfield Fire Department, Greenfield Bike Club, Unhoused Committee, GBA,DRWA,CRC, and Antonio’s Pizza of Bernardston. These folks made it happen!  Please let your city councilor and the mayor’s office know that you want this bike trail to remain safe and clean. Encourage support from the city to monitor and provide trash pick up and other resources if the area continues to draw the unhoused. Contact social service agencies requesting further support to identify and assist the unhoused with housing options that don’t pollute our waterways and watershed. Take time to clean up along the roads and neighborhoods that we live in. Put up respectful signs on our roads and tributaries encouraging a clean environment. Let’s protect our watersheds! See you in September! 

John David Boles lives in Greenfield.