Litter Picking Meetup: Free Bridge River Corridor Cleanup

Join Cville Litter Pickers and the Rivanna Trails Foundation for a joint cleanup of the Free Bridge river corridor.

We'll be working the riverbank and floodplain, the wooded buffer along Zero East High Street, and the network of local trails running through the corridor — including the informal side paths that collect what the main routes don't.

Saturday, September 19 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM Meet in the Rivanna River Company lot, 1520 East High Street, Charlottesville, VA 22902

Why This One Matters:
This whole corridor sits in the Rivanna floodplain, which means nothing here stays here. Every bottle, bag, tarp, and piece of broken plastic in these banks is river debris that just hasn't left yet — and fall storm season is right behind us. Pulling it out now is the cheapest flood-debris removal there is.

It's also one of the most used stretches of riverfront in town: trail users, paddlers, anglers, and everyone crossing Free Bridge. The trail network here gets year-round traffic and deserves better than what's currently in the woods beside it.

The City closed the encampment site here in early September. Our role starts and ends with what's on the ground and where it goes when the river rises.

Safety:
This site carries more risk than our usual roadside cleanups, so a few things are different:

• Age minimum for this event is [16 with a guardian / 18]. Unlike most of our cleanups, this one is not family-friendly.
• Sharps are present. Do not pick up needles, and do not move bedding, clothing piles, or collapsed shelters that could conceal one. Flag a crew lead — trained volunteers carry sharps containers and handle recovery.
• Closed-toe boots, long pants, and long sleeves are required.
• Watch your footing near the water. Steep banks, uneven ground, poison ivy, wasps.
• Everyone attends the safety briefing, experienced volunteers included.

What to Bring:
Water (more than you think), boots, long pants, and your own work gloves if you have a pair you like. Sunscreen and bug spray are a good idea.
All equipment provided.
There's a dumpster on site for this cleanup, so everything we pull goes straight in — nothing gets left behind at the end of the day.

Parking:
The lot is large, but it's a working outfitter with customers coming and going. Follow the access drive past the building and park along the south end, down toward the trail crossing. That keeps the spaces near the building free and puts you right where we're starting.

Two hours, a stretch of riverfront that a lot of people use, and a whole lot of debris that won't be going into the Rivanna. Bring a friend.
Details and upcoming cleanups: cvillelitterpickers.org