Spring Cleaning from Buffalo to Albany
Thank you to the event organizers and thousands of passionate volunteers who participated in the 13th annual Canal Clean Sweep over Earth Day Weekend!
Because of your hard work raking, collecting trash, and planting along the Canalway Trail System, the Canalway Trail is ready for the summer season!
#WhadjaFind? Competition
This year, we asked for pictures of the strange “Canal artifacts” collected during sweep events as part of the #WhadjaFind? competition. We had a great response, with many event organizers submitting images of the “treasures” they unearthed, as well as other shots of Sweeper hard at work.
And the winners are….. (DRUM ROLL PLEASE)……
Best Clean Sweep Spirit: Clifton Park’s Parks, Trails & Riverfront Sweep
With 30 events across the Town and 400 volunteers lending a hand, Clifton Park takes Clean Sweep to the next level.
Strangest Trash Treasure Find: Sam Patch Boat Clean Sweep
Quoting the organizer of the Sam Patch Boat Clean Sweep: “Hundreds of pounds of trash, a small statue of Ganesh, a rubber snake, dozens of wine corks and a rusted eyelash curler.”
Biggest Trash “Collection”: Tonawanda Gateway Harbor Clean-up
They get big crowds and amass huge piles of collected debris every year on the Niagara Frontier. This year, cold weather kept some volunteers at home, but they still collected a huge haul. Nice work!
Thank you to everyone who participated in #WhadjaFind? There are too many honorable mentions to mention, but the three winning groups will receive some Erie Canalway Trail goodies.
Check out our Canal Clean Sweep gallery to view pictures from Clean Sweep events across New York.
Clean Sweep is a State of Mind
PTNY offers multiple ways to carry the spirit of Clean Sweep through the entire year, namely the Canalway Trail Adopt-a-Trail and Trail Ambassador programs. Groups that register as trail adopters perform routine maintenance tasks on their trail section. Canalway Trail Ambassadors do their volunteering on the move, providing assistance and a welcome to trail users.
If you’d like to get involved, visit ptny.org, call (518) 434-1583 or email aat@ptny.org for more information.
Thanks to all of this year’s Clean Sweep organizers and volunteers, the Canal Corporation for all it does to maintain the Canal Corridor as a world-class recreational venue, and Canal and Canalway Trail supporters!
Canalway Trail Times 