Kingsbury Branch River Clean Up: 640lbs of Trash & 8 Tires

The Kingsbury Branch river begins high on Woodbury Mountain in the Town of Woodbury, flows through Calais, and drains southerly into the Winooski River in East Montpelier. The Kingsbury Branch watershed is located in the upper section of the Winooski River Watershed, which is one of the major rivers in Vermont part of the Lake Champlain Basin. Just above the confluence of the Kingsbury Branch and the Winooski River lies a 5-acre parcel of land with a VAST trail segment conserved by Vermont River Conservancy (VRC).

Kingsbury Branch at sunset from North Montpelier by John Joy

With the river still running high and ground vegetation leafed out, the end of May is a challenging time for a river clean up. Against the odds, the team of dedicated AmeriCorps members, Vermont Housing and Conservation Board staff, and VRC staff, took on the Kingsbury Branch river corridor. 

Along the bank, floodplain forest, and VAST trail segment of the river, we found everything from rotting stereo speakers to a deconstructed car. Driven by care to protect healthy rivers, wildlife habitat, and safe recreating, volunteers collected trash with laborious digging, strategic pulling, and teamwork. Hauling the trash loads and tires was no walk in the park, instead it was a hike through a steep muddy obstacle course through down-wood and brush piles. We successfully pulled out 640 pounds of trash and 8 tires out of the Kingsbury Branch river corridor! 

The AmeriCorps slogan is to “get things done” and thanks to this crew of VHCB AmeriCorps members, we got it done.