Saturday, Sept. 7 at 8 a.m.—SPRINGFIELD—The 25th annual RiverSweep cleanup is happening on Saturday, Sept. 7 with headquarters set up at Riverside Middle School on Fairground Road in Springfield. Sign in starts at 8 a.m. with a return time of 11 a.m.
What started as an interest in citizen science and the Black River watershed has turned into a non-profit organization making a major impact in our communities. The Black River Action Team (BRAT) is a grassroots organization providing education and resources to help discover, enjoy, and care for the Black River. BRAT is an all-volunteer group dedicated to the improvement and protection of the health of the Black River and the vitality and resilience of the communities of the watershed. BRAT director Kelly Stettner started the organization in 2000 with a one-time cleanup of the Black River and over the next 24 years BRAT has become a full-blown watershed organization.
Stettner, like the Black River, is a powerhouse, Michelle Stinson of the Fletcher Memorial Library stated. “Her ability to organize people and tasks proves invaluable time and time again.”
Stettner said, “Keeping an eye on the health of the river takes more than just a grappling hook and a trash bag. The chemistry of the river has an impact on what is able to live in the water, and is influenced by the surrounding geology, land use, bank conditions, and even the trees on the shoreline.”
BRAT’s River Dippers program is a volunteer crew that collects water samples from all over the watershed, between the end of April and Labor Day weekend including 50 river and stream sites plus eight lakes as well as eight swimming holes. After the devastating flood of July 2024, BRAT organized volunteers that flocked to the most heavily-impacted communities in Windsor County to help residents and homeowners respond to the damage. BRAT’s Mud Puppies stand ready to meet future challenges in partnership with other local organizations. BRAT has provided Fletcher Memorial Library with a UVM Extension/Sea Grant Lake Champlain publication for community members. The Rain Garden Manual for Vermont and the Lake Champlain Basin: Landscape Strategies to Absorb the Storm is available at the library.
