THE MERRIMACK VALLEY SIERRA CLUB PARTICIPATES IN AN URBAN PONDS CLEAN-UP AT MANCHESTER'S MAXWELL POND
On Saturday, Oct. 7, 2006, several members and friends of the Merrimack Valley Group participated in a clean-up of the Maxwel Pond area in west Manchester. Organized clean-ups of Manchester's eight urban ponds are held semi-annually, as part of the City's Urban Ponds Restoration Program. At present, the program is headed by a volunteer director - Jennifer Drociak.
The Maxwell Pond clean-up yielded large volumes of trash collected both at the periphery of the pond and from shallow parts of the pond itself. The clean-up was highly successful, largely due to a contingent of students from Southern New Hampshire University, who had read a announcement of the pond's clean-up and appeared to participate in the activity.
Jennifer Drociak (far right) and some of the clean-up crew. The truck holds only a portion of the trash collected from Maxwell Pond and the lower portion of Black Brook.
Two SNHU students clean-up an area that had been used by a group of homeless people.
Sierra Club interest in the Maxwell Pond area has grown out of a controversy that surrounds Black Brook Dam, a small dam that was constructed in the early 1900s and brought about the pond's formation. In recent years, the pond has filled with silt from upstream contamination and invasive plant forms are common in the area. The Sierra Club has supported efforts of the NHDES, the Manchester Urban Ponds Restoration Program and Trout Unlimited to bring about a breeching of the dam. Black Brook would then become a free-flowing stream entering the Merrimack.
Recently, the City of Manchester has agreed to the demolition of the dam. Subsequently, a system of trails will be constructed alongside the river and the area will be used for passive recreation and environmental education.