On April 15th, many students joined the Greater Princeton Branch of AYLUS (GPA) for the 17th Annual Watershed Cleanup! Over the years, thousands of volunteers have removed over 141,000 pounds of trash, helping to make our watersheds healthier, protect our environment and beautify our communities.
The Watershed Institute’s work is primarily in central New Jersey, focusing on the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed and the adjacent part of the Central Delaware River Watershed.
The Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed is a 265-square-mile area that spans 25 towns across five counties (Mercer, Monmouth, Hunterdon, Middlesex, and Somerset) and drains to the Millstone River. The Stony Brook is the largest of more than a dozen tributaries that flow into the Millstone River. The Millstone River flows north until it joins the Raritan River, which empties into Raritan Bay near Sandy Hook, NJ.
The Central Delaware River Watershed is a narrow ribbon of land adjacent to the Delaware River. On the New Jersey side of the river, the watershed includes parts of Hunterdon and Mercer Counties.
A watershed is an area of land that drains into a particular body of water, such as a stream, river, pond, or lake. A watershed is not determined by political boundaries, but instead is shaped by nature’s hills and valleys.
Our central New Jersey waterways include the D&R Canal, and the Millstone, Delaware, and Raritan Rivers. These water bodies collectively provide drinking water for more than 16 million people across four states.
GPA Volunteers (4/15, 2 hrs) at Plainsboro, and more cleanup sites: Amy Chua, Max Chua, Yun Bai, and more.
GPA Volunteer Kristine Wang (4/15, 4 hrs; 4/23, 4 hrs) worked at the Watershed Institute Welcome Desk.