In May 1996, in cooperation with many local civic organizations, the New York-North Jersey Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club took part in a civic project to help local residents cleanup a several block section of the Bronx River and adjacent riverbanks just downstream of the Bronx Zoological Park, in New York City. That's right - THE BRONX.

  In spite of most people's image of the Bronx, this is a truly beautiful area that has been badly treated by a few unthinking people.

AMC paddlers help local residents, teachers and students from West Farms School cleanup their backyard river.

The NY-NoJ Chapter of AMC has an Urban Trails program and a very active and conservation aware Canoe & Kayak program. When joining the project was suggested to us by Lee Hackling of the National Parks Service, Kate Whitney-Bukofzer, then our Vice Chair, Urban Trails Supervisor and a resident of the Bronx jumped into the project. Canoe has been cleaning up local rivers for several years. Then Jonathan Tunik, AMC canoeist, one of our most active river cleaners, primary author of the Canoe Conservation Policy Statement, and a math tutor in the Bronx, really got enthusiastic about the project, and coordinated the Canoeing section.

Jonathan and Kate recruited and conned more than 40 AMC members, including about 20 paddlers, and folks from Trails, Conservation, and even our Boston Staff, to help remove thousands of pounds of trash from the river, and to assist more than 100 local residents clear and begin landscaping several acres behind West Farms School for a mini park on the riverbank. This effort is part of a larger project to build a walkway along the river eventually leading to another entrance to the Bronx Zoo.

Chapter "Big Wheels", (from left) Henry Schreiber, Past Canoe Chair, and Kate Whitney-Bukofzer, Chapter Chair, work to get one of the BIG TIRES out of the Bronx River, while Al Braley, Past Chapter Chair, supervises.

  Paddlers and many local residents removed trash, numerous tires and auto body parts from the river and moved tons of dirt and stones and other litter from this potentially lovely section of New York City and the Bronx.

This event was so successful that we went back in 1998 and we hope to have more photos soon.