CRMC, partners to hold RI ROW Cleanup Day

WAKEFIELD, September 27, 2021 – The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC), along with its partners Rhode Island Sea Grant (RISG), Save The Bay, and Clean Ocean Access, is holding its first annual Rhode Island Right-of-Way Cleanup Day on Saturday, Oct. 2.

CRMC and the other two groups will have staff present at a number of CRMC rights-of-way, as well as other access points around the state. The public is welcome at the cleanups. Staff from the CRMC and Rhode Island Sea Grant will be present at the cleanup at the recently-designated Wilson Park CRMC ROW in North Kingstown from 8-10 a.m. CRMC staff will also be at Public Street CRMC ROW in Providence from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Save The Bay will be at Atlantic Beach in Westerly from 8-9:30 a.m., Passeonkquis Cove in Warwick from 10-11:30 a.m., and the Mount Hope boat ramp in Bristol from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Save The Bay’s cleanups are also part of their annual International Coastal Cleanup.

Clean Ocean Access will be at the Gull Cove Fishing Area in Portsmouth from 12-2 p.m., and will send volunteers out to surrounding CRMC rights-of-way to conduct cleanups. COA is using the Clean Swell trash collecting app to track the amount of trash collected; see the CRMC page below for information on using that app.

“This statewide Right-of-Way Cleanup Day presents a unique opportunity to join forces with these impactful Rhode Island organizations in a celebration of public access through stewardship," said Save The Bay Executive Director Jonathan Stone. "Public access is core to our vision for Narragansett Bay, and we welcome any opportunity to come together as a community to raise awareness of the importance of access to the shore."

Volunteers should bring heavy work gloves if possible, and dress for the weather and the work. Sturdy shoes or boots are recommended, as are a hat, sunscreen, and bug spray. If you wish to do your own cleanup at a location NOT included on the list, please bring your own trash bags and take your bagged garbage with you (if this isn’t possible, you must arrange for removal through the town in which you’re conducting your cleanup PRIOR TO the cleanup).

For more information about each of the locations, including links to sign up and complete waivers, go to the CRMC web site - http://www.crmc.ri.gov/news/2021_0915_cleanup.html.

“Lot of great action underway in the Ocean State to protect and preserve shoreline access, and front and center has to be individual stewardship to take good care of the amazing rights of way to enjoy the ocean,” said David McLaughlin, executive director of Clean Ocean Access. “COA is excited to be part of a state wide effort to beautify the rights of way and hope this brings more attention to these amazing natural resources, and the opportunity to travel along the shoreline connecting all the rights of way.”
To recognize the official unveiling of the Public Street Right-of-Way and to recognize those integral in its designation, the CRMC, Save The Bay, and the City of Providence will hold a short ceremony to unveil the ROW signage and thank those partners in the process.

“The CRMC’s many public access-related efforts rely on the cooperation of and partnership with local neighborhood groups, municipal leadership and government, concerned citizens, and other state entities,” said CRMC Executive Director Jeff Willis. “As always, we thank them for their shared passion for public access to Rhode Island’s shore. It’s only fitting that this weekend we are teaming up with some of them to clean up our rights-of-way, and to celebrate the designation of one of them.”