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Scavenger Hunt Date Changed to July 11

Sign up for the 2009 Scavenger Hunt. We are taking names now for the July 11, 2009 Scavenger Hunt that will take place in Lowell. This is a fun competition to see how much "stuff" you can collect from the river. Scoring is a points based system and we award prizes in the "small boat" and "large boat" categories. Click here to register early!!

Thank you Jenny Jones! Former TV talk show host Jenny Jones makes a welcome donation. Click here for the full story.

Thanks Brooks School: CRP would like to thank the Brooks School for their recent donation of tires for use on our dump trailer. This trailer is used for the transport of debris that is removed from the water. It is quite nice to find that our efforts are recognized within the community. With the generous donation, came the statement, "Great Cause."
We at CRP agree, and welcome volunteers to join us in our efforts to clean our rivers. Click here to see photos.

Grant Writing: We are looking for volunteers with grant writing experience to help us with our fundraising.

WaveRunner wanted: We are looking for someone to donate a WaveRunner/Jet Ski that will be used to patrol the river.

Scuba Divers needed: We are also looking for a scuba diver to volunteer their time to help us search and pull cars from the river.

Donations Needed!

Coming Soon: Clean River Project is moving into Lowell with our cleaning efforts. We will be adding boats to the top half.

Take a Tour: Donate $100 or more and we will take you and your family on a tour of the Merrimack River on one of our boats.

My name is Rocky Morrison and I am the founder of Clean River Project. For many years I have lived and boated on the Merrimack River with my family and friends.

In 2005 when the river was at one of its lowest points, I was not only amazed but disgusted at the trash visible within the banks and bushes of the Merrimack River. There were numerous items, such as car engines, household appliances, furniture, construction barrels, and over 1000 tires, to name a few.

Tired of seeing nothing being done about this problem, my wife and I decided to take action and get involved. We came up with the idea to have a scavenger hunt with our fellow boaters. An event that would be fun and interesting and at the same time help to get the river clean. Boaters who participated in the event were given the goal of retrieving as much debris and trash as possible. We used a point system for the various types of trash to be collected. Those with the most points were awarded prizes donated by local businesses. We also held a raffle for the remaining participants.

The first annual Merrimack River Scavenger Hunt was a huge success.

In the end, a grand total of 300 tires, two 30-yard dumpsters full of trash, furniture, car parts, appliances, and more were removed from the Merrimack River. Everyone who was there that day agreed that no one went home a loser. This has now become an annual event that not only has boaters involved, but the whole community as well.

In the summer of 2007 we organized a tire pullout day which turned out 584 tires from the river. Also that summer, a search of the river located 23 cars beneath the water that had been dumped illegally.

With the help of myself and other volunteers, these cars were removed from the water by the Massachusetts State Police as part of a training program.

Since the start of the Clean River Project in 2005, the Merrimack riverbanks have gone from being totally covered with debris to be the beautiful beaches they once were over 100 years ago. This website is a place to learn more about the Project, as well as how to become a part of of our environmental patrol.

Thank you,

Rocky