The Source to Sea Cleanup has provided a valuable service to the Connecticut River Valley since its 1997 inception. And it can provide receipts.

Nearly 40,000 volunteers have removed 1,100 tons of trash, almost 14,000 tires and 144,000 beverage containers in hopes of ensuring cleaner water and healthier habitats through the 410-mile watershed in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut. The annual event has long been held in conjunction with the Green River Cleanup, formed 21 years ago and a part of the larger Franklin County Rivers Cleanup, and this year’s collaborative effort is scheduled for the weekend of Sept. 28.

“Lots of enthusiasm is building for this year’s cleanup,” said Diana Chaplin, the Connecticut River Conservancy’s director of communications. “Not only is this a great way to make a positive impact for our rivers and habitats, it’s also a genuinely fun experience to gather with community members, share stories and work together for a shared goal.”

At least 80 groups have registered throughout the watershed this time around, and the nonprofit Connecticut River Conservancy had participation from at least 100 groups and 1,000 volunteers in 2023. Those numbers are expected to be exceeded this year.

Anyone who is interested can register for a Source to Sea Cleanup site by viewing on a map at tinyurl.com/58b5nt26.

Among the groups in Hampshire County sponsoring a cleanup are the Fort River Watershed Association, which will gather volunteers of all ages at Groff Park from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday to clean up the river’s watershed.

The Fort River watershed is the longest tributary of the Connecticut River, passing through parts of Amherst, Shutesbury, Pelham, Belchertown, and Hadley. It is important for the free passage of fish, home to the endangered dwarf wedgemussel and contributes to the drinking water in Amherst and Hadley.

More information can be found at fortriver.org/cleanup.

Other cleanup events in Hampshire County include:

■Three in Northampton, starting on Friday with the Northampton Meadows and Pedal People cleanup from 9 to 11 a.m. Meet at the Sheldon Field parking area on Old Ferry Road. On Saturday, from 8:30-11:30 a.m., volunteers will meet at Packaging Corporation on Mount Tom Road and disperse to cleanup Oxbow Road area. Also on Saturday, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the First Hampshire Green Team and WRSI will meet at the Northampton Airport parking area on Old Ferry Road and then spreading out to help clean up the river along the Meadows.

■Two cleanups will take place in South Hadley, starting on Friday with the Beachgrounds Park Cleanup from 8:30-10:30 a.m. Meet at the parking lot behind the athletic fields. On Saturday, from 9 a.m. to noon, the South Hadley Falls Neighborhood Association will meet in the parking lot on Main Street in South Hadley Falls across from St. Patrick’s Church, and then disperse to cleanup Fisherman’s Path below the Route 116 bridge.

■William Raveis Real Estate group will meet on Friday at Puffer’s Pond in Amherst from 3-6 p.m.

■Friends of Lake Wallace will meet to clean up Lake Wallace in Belchertown on Sunday from 2-4 p.m.

■Two cleanups are planned in Easthampton. The Easthampton Oxbow cleanup will take place Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon at the intersection of Fort Hill Road and Old Springfield Road near the Mass Audubon Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary. Also on Saturday, a River Roads Festival Cleanup will take place from 9 a.m. to noon. Meet at Millside Park in Easthampton, where volunteers will be grouped together to clean up seven sites in the city.

Family affair

The cleanup is a family affair for some, including Erving resident Susan Sharbaugh and her granddaughter Gracie Rosenberg. Sharbaugh said she got involved at least 20 years ago because she is passionate about the health of the county’s rivers. She has made the cleanup an annual habit and invited Rosenberg about 10 years ago.

“She was very excited to help out,” Sharbaugh said, adding that she did not have to convince her granddaughter. “Her comment was, ‘Absolutely! I’ll be there to help.’”

Rosenberg, 20, said she jumped at the chance to volunteer alongside her grandmother and she immediately noticed the difference it made in the community.

“I get great satisfaction. I get to go out with a bunch of great people,” she said. “I enjoy it every year, I really do.”

The environment is a particular concern and passion for Rosenberg, who is studying biology at Greenfield Community College. She said she has pulled countless tires out of the watershed and once found a purse containing an ID that she gave to the police.

Last year, Sharbaugh, 81, said she and Rosenberg were assigned to clean up the area surrounding the former Railroad Salvage building in Turners Falls.

“It was a big job for my granddaughter and myself,” she recalled. “It took about three hours.”

Sharbaugh said she has found everything from coolers to chairs to sleeping bags.

Greenfield resident David Boles started the Green River Cleanup, now entering its 21st year and now averaging 250 to 300 volunteers. He was inspired when his son was part of an informal cleanup group of 10 GCC students organized by environmental science professor Brian Adams.

“There’s just an enormous amount of groups committed to keeping the watershed clean,” Boles said.

Boles grew up in upstate New York’s Niagara County, which he said had some of the most polluted water in the country. But he moved to Greenfield about 45 years ago and marveled at the area’s water quality.

“It made me want to stay here and [realize] how lucky we are, because this [quality] doesn’t exist in 90% of the rest of the country,” he said.

Beth Bazler, a senior land and compliance specialist for FirstLight Hydro Generating Co. who helps organize a cleanup focused on the Gill-Montague area, said some of the more heavily involved participants visit reported sites beforehand and it appears the nearly 30 years of hard work is paying off — because there is noticeably less trash to remove. She mentioned volunteers previously pulled a car out of the river in the Cabot Woods area of Turners Falls. People have also found Christmas trees, children’s toys and pieces of dock floats.

“This year, we’re finding a lot of clean sites, which is great,” she said.

Sites in need of attention can be reported via tinyurl.com/nhdv9npm.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.