On Friday, Sept. 28, JSC Outdoor Education professor Brad Moskowitz and JSC’s SERVE Fri program teamed up to clean waste from the nearby Lamoille River.
Moskowitz was pleased that the two, usually unrelated groups could interact. “[My class] got to meet other people who were doing service just because they wanted to be there and contribute,” he said.
According to SERVE Fri Vice President and Orientation Leader Liz Spier, “We clean up the Lamoille because it is one of the closest rivers [to the campus], and because it receives run-off from the Johnson, Morrisville and Cambridge areas. Ultimately, this river runs into Lake Champlain, and it is important to preserve watershed as cleanly as possible.”
In addition, the flood that devastated Waterbury due to Tropical Storm Irene caused large, heavy debris to get caught on the riverbanks, requiring dedicated teams of workers to lift it away. Because the debris was in out-of-reach areas, the students piled into canoes to paddle downriver and pick up the trash.
While the SERVE Fri volunteers had the motivation to clean up, some of them were not as experienced with boating as the Outdoor Education students. For instruction, Professor Moskowitz was assisted by the owner of the canoe tour service Bert’s Boats, who provided basic paddling lessons along with canoes and life jackets.
Moskowitz led everybody in warm-up exercises designed to improve their timing while rowing. For those who had to miss breakfast to join, Moskowitz provided drinks and snacks from Cold Hollow Cider Mill at his own expense.
The trash recovered on the trip was varied and often hazardous to people and wildlife alike. The most common sightings were spare tires dragged along by the flood, which were fairly harmless but required a strong back to move. More danger came from pieces of rusted iron and shattered glass that had been accumulating under bridges, which had to be handled carefully and often tore holes in the trash bags the volunteers brought along.
The most egregious piece of debris was an empty bag clearly labeled “Asbestos”, although the unbroken lining of a pickup truck bed was much harder to fold and transport.
When the volunteers reached the shore at the end of their trip, they were exhausted, grimy, and rained upon, but still satisfied with the effects of their efforts. Despite technically having done a grueling chore, both the Outdoor Education students and the SERVE Fri guests felt that they had a fun and productive time. After cleaning out the rental canoes, they unloaded everything they had collected, organized it into neat piles, and drove it back to the Johnson State College campus to drop the refuse off in the trash compactors located near the apartments.
SERVE Fri has been performing this service for approximately five years, depending on whether or not more pressing services are needed elsewhere. The assistance from the Outdoor Education program has been just as consistent. “I know that in Fall of 2009, Russ Weis was then coordinating the SERVE Fri program,” said Moskowitz. “I was teaching the Outdoor Education class at the time, and decided to have our students and myself jump right in and join Russ in his efforts.”
After a long and tiring day, Moskowitz was pleased with the results of the cleanup. “My hope is that they have a good, positive experience while involving themselves in a valuable and meaningful community service project,” he said. “I feel that it’s a very relevant service learning opportunity in the Introduction to Outdoor Education class.”
