Help Keep a River Clean and Create Art

Eagle Times Staff
BRATTLEBORO, VT — On two consecutive Saturdays this month, the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, along with the Connecticut River Conservancy and the River Gallery School, invites the public to participate in an exploration of trash and art.

First, on Saturday, Sept. 23, join a team pulling debris out of the river during the Connecticut River Conservancy’s 27th annual Source to Sea Cleanup.

Then, on Saturday, September 30, join BMAC Lead Educator Kate Milliken at the River Gallery School for a Found Materials Sculpture Workshop using the plastic trash collected from the Connecticut River — cleaned and prepared to be used as art materials.

According to the Connecticut River Conservancy, the Source to Sea Cleanup, which happens at numerous locations along the entire 410-mile river, is not only an effort to pick up trash for a day, “it is also a catalyst for lasting change,” inspiring the public to think more deeply about recycling and upcycling waste, and working for legislative action that lessens trash in the first place.

In 2022, more than 1,200 volunteers in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut participated in the Cleanup, collecting more than 34 tons of trash, including almost 12,400 beverage containers and nearly 8,000 pounds of scrap metal.

On September 23, join the Cleanup by checking in at the Retreat Farm or Vermont Canoe Touring Center anytime between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and helping with trash collection for as long as you’d like. Walk the banks of the river or take a boat out onto the water and see how much you can find. The Vermont Canoe Touring Center will offer $10 off canoe and kayak rentals for this event.

On September 30, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., head to the River Gallery School in downtown Brattleboro, where museum educator Kate Milliken will lead a sculpture workshop designed to inspire individual creativity and remind makers that art materials don’t need to be fancy or expensive.

For Milliken, the workshop is an opportunity for people to “see the many lives that ‘forever’ plastics can have, all while they explore their own creativity and self-expression through art making.”

There is no charge to join the Cleanup. Admission to the workshop is $20 ($10 for BMAC members). Space for the workshop is limited and registration required. Register at brattleboromuseum.org or call 802-257-0124 ext 101.