On Saturday, one of several Great Lehigh Canal Clean Ups took place at the Weissport Trailhead. Twenty people came out to clear invasives from the canal bank, pick up trash, and remove all sorts of debris. Most of the work was done south of Interchange Road, an area that has received less attention than the trailhead on the other side of the road but is an important access point to Parryville.

The clean up was truly a cooperative, community effort. The Carbon Service Corporation donated a dumpster to dispose of the collected trash and debris. The Borough of Jim Thorpe loaned a chipper-shredder and a skilled operator to grind up clippings. Members of Concerned Citizens of Weissport cooked hotdogs for the volunteers, which they washed down with bottled water donated by Aquafina. PennDOT provided safety vests, gloves, and garbage bags. Weissport even provided police coverage, pedestrian crossing signs, and orange safety cones!

Most important of all, this was the first organized event of the recently-formed Carbon County Trail Tenders. Under enthusiastic leadership and with lots of exciting trail developments in the county, this chapter should make significant progress in the next year. If you are interested in joining them, please contact chapter leader Doug Makofka at doug@makofka.org.

Despite temperatures near 90 degrees, this weekend a group of volunteers moved forward in the effort to clean up the Lehigh Canal. On Saturday, April 25, a canal cleanup event was held as part of the Great Lehigh County Cleanup in the Borough of Catasauqua. This event was held in conjunction with the Great PA Cleanup.

A group of about twenty persons gathered to remove trash and invasive plants from the canal and its banks. Participants included the D&L, members of Borough Council, Historic Catasauqua Preservation Society, Lehigh County Juvenile Probation Department, Lehigh County Parks Department and local businesses.

While much work remains, we got off to a great start in the effort to remove the canal of invasive plants and replant the canal and railroad banks with native grasses and wildflowers.

Mark your calendars! The 10th Annual Wyoming Valley RiverFest will be held the weekend of June 19th -21st. RiverFest will begin on the afternoon of Friday, June 19th with the dedication and grand opening of the Wilkes-Barre River Common. This $30 million new park in downtown Wilkes-Barre includes a fishing pier and boat launch, a quarter mile of paved walkways, ornamental gardens, a 4,000 person amphitheater with granite seating, two portals through the levy that reconnect the park with the Susquehanna, and water fountains at the Millennium Circle.

RiverFest continues on Saturday, June 20th in Nesbitt Park from 1pm to 6pm with live music, exhibits, vendors, food, fun and activities for all ages. Enjoy the chance to view the live birds of prey and mammals or take a guided hike through the historic Olmsted Park and riparian forest that adjoins the river in Kirby Park. Kids can look forward to pony rides, field games, a moon walk, kids’ tree climb, rock climbing wall, kayaking demos, arts and crafts projects, live animals, fishing & fly tying demos, and children’s bike safety program with free helmet give away.

RiverFest is always a good time, but the 10th annual celebration promises to be the best festival yet. Exhibit space is still available. Please contact Vincent Cortrone at vjc1@psu.edu to reserve a table.

Come out on April 25th to give the Delaware Canal its annual spring cleaning! Activities start at 9 a.m. There are 17 different locations along the Canal from Upper Black Eddy to Bristol that are waiting for volunteers. Please check out the list of Clean-Up Day Work Areas on www.fodc.org. Then choose a convenient or needy section, and call the area coordinator to offer your assistance. Your coordinator will tell you where to meet, what to bring, and answer any questions that you may have. Please bring along your family, friends, and acquaintances, too!

With so much of the Canal under construction, this year’s clean-up effort will be the geographically smallest ever. However, small has its virtues, and each section that is free of repair work will be tackled with added vigor. Also, to compensate, we’ll be undertaking a special touch-up painting project at Lock 11 in New Hope.

A dry canal is the easiest kind to clean, so please take advantage of this year’s conditions by volunteering to help. Individual clean-up efforts are always welcome, too! Anytime, anywhere!

The following article by Linda Jenny originally appeared on the Bucks County Herald‘s website on April 9, 2009:

The Delaware River at its best is a beauty. When the waters overflow the banks and get into riverside homes and roads and wash people’s lives downriver, it is a beast. Those of use who live along this river have seen both and in the last few years, too much of the beast side and too many times. Three times in a short period of time. I can remember driving through Upper Black Eddy and smelling the oil from ruptured oil tanks in the basements of home owners who had the river inside their home. Their properties were part of the river until the waters receded. That was then and this is now. Over the past few years as I drive these roads I’ve seen many homeowners raise their homes, literally, above the threat of another flood.

Now as you drive down 611 or Route 32 you will see more and more homes up on cinder blocks and safely out of harm’s way. And the work that the families have done to these homes is amazing. The homes look wonderful and can now remain that way. The damage to the canal towpath was devastating and in some areas still present. Years ago my family trained our sled dog teams on the towpath and now it is hard to find a stretch where there hasn’t been major destruction of the path. But the good news is that as you drive near the canal you can now see where repairs are done and repair work is actively going on. Some morning take a drive down Route 32 and enjoy the light of the sunrise on the river or some evening when the water is calm and you can see a perfect reflection of the trees across the river. The beauty is back. Don’t miss it.