In April, many students joined the Greater Princeton & Far Beyond Branch of AYLUS (GPA) for the 18th 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 (4/13, 2 hrs) at Plainsboro, Montgomery, Princeton, and more cleanup sites: Ruth Rui, George Chen, Carl Shi, Martin Zhao, Owen Zhao, Chloe Zhao, Xintong Si, Annie Xu, Julia Wu, Max Xiong
