Rahway River Clean Up: April 22nd

Arthur L. Johnson and Carl H. Kumpf schools,  along with numerous community organizations including the Rahway River Watershed Association, Rahway and Clark Environmental Commissions, Boy Scout Troop 330 and Cub Scout Pack 30, will hold its annual Earth Day Rahway River clean-up on Saturday, April 22nd (there is a rain date of April 23rd).  This cleanup event has been conducted annually since the 1990’s under the auspices of the Union County Adopt-a-Park program.
Teachers at ALJ are adding some in-class incentives for participating. Mr. Reyes, Ms. Zederbaum, Mrs. Jacobi, Mr. Gonzalez, Mrs. Marciano and Mrs. Lopez-Otalvaro are all participating. See individual teachers for specific incentives. 
All volunteers are welcome to participate.  Interested volunteers should meet at the parking area adjacent to the waterfall of the Rahway River by the dam at Winfield Park at 8:45. The clean-up will generally be between 9-1, but any amount of time or effort that folks can volunteer is appreciated.  Anyone can participate! Scout, school, church, and civic groups are just some of the organizations that have participated in the past.
There is a large volume of debris and garbage to remove from the river banks and areas of the river’s floodplain,. This includes debris like shopping carts, tires, and of course floatables (cans, bottles, plastics, etc.). Union County supplies gloves and garbage bags, and material donations from generous individuals and companies (donuts, bagels, coffee, bottled water, paper towels, hand-wipes, etc) support the volunteers.  Last year, nearly 150 volunteers participated, and removed tires, and a number of other large pieces of debris, and over 100 large bags of floatable debris and other wastes.
Fredy Reyes, the coordinator for Clark Public Schools, said “this is a great way to celebrate Earth Day. If you haven't participated in an event like this before, you would find it invigorating, and you will feel good about what you are giving back to your community and the environment.” If you need more information please feel free to drop an e-mail to rivercleanup@comcast.net