Several days a week, HRLPC members maintain and enhance the various Hockanum River hiking trails. Part of that activity involves removing any trash which is found along the trailway.

The shore, however, is not the only place where trash accumulates. Unfortunately, the river itself remains a place where unthinking people or even natural forces (wind, flood, etc.) deposit items. Because of the logisitics involved in removing these items from the river itself, each year the towns in the Hockanum River Watershed Area participate in an Annual Clean-Up event. These are done in concert with the Connecticut River Watershed Council's annual "Source to Sea Clean-Up" project. (Check the Upcoming Events section for information on the latest Source to Sea Clean-Up event.)

During these, an amazing (and at times dismaying) variety of items are pulled from the river and riverbed. These run the gamut from the ubiquitous tires and plastic cups and bottles, to automobile drivetrains, shopping carts, railroad ties (with and without spikes), trash dumpsters, toys, simple litter, and computer monitors and circuit boards. Once gathered, these are collected and then disposed of, either in a landfill or in a proper recycling center as appropriate.

To the HRWA, as well as others who care about the environment, "out of sight" is definitely NOT "out of mind."

Click on any of the photo icons below to "walk" through a photo gallery of various HRWA annual river clean-ups.