What
IR will be hosting an organized trash cleanup on the Casselman River followed by a thank you cookout at Immersion Research in Confluence, PA. We will be paddling the river and removing as much waste as possible along the way. Each of the stamp icons represents a type of waste we saw last time we paddled this section
Who
You're invited. Bring some friends. We'll also be inviting local paddling clubs, conservation organizations, and outfitters to participate. The more help we have the more trash we'll be able to pack out of the river
Where
The Casselman River starting in Salibury, PA through Myersdale, PA
WHEN
April 11th 2020 (the Saturday before Easter). We'll meet at Immersion Research in Confluence, PA before 9am. At 9:15 we'll head to the put in. After the group has made it to the takeout we'll load up and head back to IR for some refreshments.
Why
This section of the Casselman needs some help. This section of river is roadside in several areas. These roadside sections unfortunately accumulate the most trash. Since trash travels downhill we're going to start here at what we feel is the worst section in terms of trash.
What you need to know
Volunteers should expect to boat the river and pick up litter in the water and on the banks.
Rafts and Canoes can hold a lot of trash. Wilderness Voyagers in Ohiopyle has kindly offered to provide some rafts for the cleanup.
You'll be responsible for your own shuttle. We will do our best to consolidate vehicles at IR. We may be able to provide some help with shuttle. We're still working on it.
What you should bring
- Paddling gear
- Temperature appropriate clothing for paddling, wading, and walking on shore
- Good footwear for the river
- Gloves (neoprene is ideal for the water, leather for cleaning the banks)
- Water
- Snacks
- Hand sanitizer
The Plan
We'll meet at IR before 9am. At 9:15 we'll head to the put in and drop gear. We'll then drop vehicles at the takeout and bring drivers back to the put-in.
Working our way down the river we'll collect as much trash as possible. At roadside sections we can lighten our boats by leaving trash bags off the side of the road to collect later. We'll grab these and throw them in a trailer on the way back to IR.
After we've all made it to the takeout we'll head back to IR for a small volunteer appreciation cookout. We expect this to be around 4pm but it could be a little earlier or later depending on how things go.