The Verona Environmental Commission (VEC) is holding is annual cleanup of the Peckman River behind F.N. Brown school on Saturday, June 2, and it’s asking for volunteers to come out and help.
The Peckman is only a small stream in Verona but it is part of the important Passaic River watershed. In 2014, the VEC began a restoration of the woods by river with an intensive cleanup. Volunteers that year removed enough cans and bottles from the woods to fill four garbage bins, as well as more than a dozen bags of other trash and invasive plants. They also hauled out a boiler, wire fencing, bed springs and pipes. The work earned the VEC a $1,400 grant from the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC), which it used to buy and plant new native trees and shrubs.
This year’s cleanup, which also marks the 50th anniversary of National Trails Day, will run from 9 a.m. to noon. Long pants, work boots and rain boots or waders are recommended. Volunteers of all ages are welcome, but minors under age 18 must have a signed waiver, which is available at the event and children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. Volunteers will meet at the trail entrance that is in the back left corner of the field behind F.N. Brown.
The Peckman River Trail is used as an outdoor discovery environment at F.N. Brown, and can be used by the general public for walking and light bike riding. There’s a map on the VEC’s website and you can do a virtual tour in this VEC video.
