CENTRE COUNTY — For 30 years, a simple idea has brought hundreds of neighbors together across Centre County and beyond: spend a Saturday morning cleaning up the places we all share.
Clearwater Conservancy will celebrate the 30th anniversary of its annual Watershed Cleanup Day on Saturday, April 18, inviting volunteers across central Pennsylvania to roll up their sleeves and help remove trash from streams, roadsides and sinkholes that feed into the region’s waterways.
What began in 1997 as a focused effort to clean up the Spring Creek watershed has grown into one of the area’s longest-running community stewardship events.
“This year is the 30th anniversary, so we’ve been trying to highlight more of the history this year since it’s a big anniversary for us,” said Isabella Petitta, Community Engagement Coordinator for Clearwater Conservancy.
The first cleanup effort nearly three decades ago drew 533 volunteers who removed an astonishing 17 tons of trash from the watershed.
“Then in comparison, last year in 2025, we had 664 volunteers, and they removed 12,860 pounds of trash.”
The numbers tell two stories at once. The event has grown in participation, but the total amount of trash collected has declined significantly over time, a sign that the long-running effort has made a difference.
“Luckily, because we’ve been doing this cleanup for 30 years, our trash totals aren’t as high,” Petitta said.
Originally known as Spring Creek Cleanup Day, the effort expanded in 2001 and was renamed Watershed Cleanup Day. The broader mission allowed organizers and volunteers to address litter not just along the creek itself but also in sinkholes, roadsides and other areas that eventually drain into local waterways.
Today the cleanup remains centered in Centre County but includes sites throughout central Pennsylvania.
For volunteers, the day is designed to be simple and welcoming. Cleanup runs from 8 a.m. to noon, though some sites may finish earlier depending on how quickly volunteers collect trash is their chosen area.
Registration is currently open through Clearwater Conservancy’s website. Volunteers fill out a form indicating where they live, how far they are willing to travel and what kind of terrain they feel comfortable working on.
“We’ll take this information after registration closes on March 27, and we will pair volunteers with sites based on everything that they request,” Petitta said.
Many volunteers even return to the same cleanup locations year after year.
“We have some volunteers that have been doing this for years,” she said. “So they always want to be at the same site.”
Once assignments are finalized, volunteers receive information about where to report on cleanup day. Site coordinators help distribute safety equipment such as gloves and vests and guide groups through the cleanup process.
At the end of the morning, volunteers simply bag the trash and place it at designated pickup locations, where municipalities collect and dispose of it.
The items volunteers encounter range from the everyday to the unexpected. Water bottles, plastic bags, food wrappers and cigarette butts are common finds. Larger items sometimes include tires or abandoned bicycles.
“There is a big range,” Petitta said.
But the heart of the event is not just the trash that gets removed. It’s the relationships and traditions that have grown around the cleanup.
Petitta pointed to longtime volunteer Genevieve Robine, who helped start the event in 1997 and still serves on the organizing committee today.
“She really helped start Watershed Cleanup Day in 1997 and she’s still active on our committee,” Petitta said.
One of Robine’s former students, Dave Watson, now works with Centre County Recycling and plays a key role coordinating trash collection and weighing for the event. It’s a small example of how the cleanup has become a multi-generational community effort.
“It’s a good example of the connection that people have in our community,” Petitta said. “They typically have neighbors or friends that also do the cleanup, and they bring them out with them.”
That sense of shared responsibility is what has kept the event going for three decades.
“I think really our registration every year is a great example of how tied our community is to this event,” Petitta said. “Every year with really not a ton of promotion, we get 600 volunteers that are willing to come work on their weekend and work with their neighbors and friends because they feel so connected to the event and to their community.”
Beyond improving water quality, she said the cleanup also helps people slow down and see their surroundings differently.
“I think it helps people become aware of trash in their community,” Petitta said. “Usually people are moving so quickly through these areas, but once you stop and look around, you realize how many small pieces of trash are out there.”
Registration for the 30th annual Watershed Cleanup Day is open through March 27 at clearwaterconservancy.org.
