HOLYOKE –  A group of volunteers dedicated to keeping Western Massachusetts waterways and fishing spots clean are working to clean up a part of Holyoke that has been overrun with trash.

James Mcdonald volunteers with and moderates the Facebook group Make Massachusetts Fishing Spots Great Again, that has since turned into a nonprofit organization. He said the organization and Facebook page was first created in 2019 when the President, Brett Richards, “was fishing and he wasn’t getting any bites.”

“He was looking around and there was trash all over, he decided to walk around and pick it up. The more he thought about it, he wanted to start a non-profit to keep Massachusetts waterways free of trash,” Mcdonald said.

Such waterways include local rivers, ponds, lakes and even the Connecticut River, he said. Since then, the Facebook group has grown to 3,800 members who volunteer to help clean up the waterways and areas of the Pioneer Valley when needed.

Since the group’s inception, Mcdonald said they have worked hard to team up with cities in the region to clean up a total of 10 waterways. “We, as a team, have cleaned up approximately 10 waterways since then. We cleaned Loon Pond in Springfield, which was very, very dirty, there was never any trash barrels,” he said. “Fifteen of us cleaned that up one weekend, organized it with the Springfield DPW. We got all the trash bagged up, left it at a specified location and the town came and disposed of it for us.”

He said while some of the spots that have been cleaned by the group are a product of littering, others were homeless camps that have been abandoned. Most recently, Mcdonald said the group cleaned up an area at the end of Exchange Street in Chicopee. He said the group worked with the Chicopee DPW and Mayor John Vieau to organize a cleanup of the area.

“Forty-three volunteers cleaned up 2,500 pounds of trash in 90 minutes,” he said.

In addition to cleaning up trash he said the group often comes across a lot of hypodermic needles while cleaning up the waterways. “As a group, we have collectively [found] over 700 hypodermic needles,” he said.

Mcdonald said the group works with the organization Tapestry Health, who has a needle collection program. “They dispose of them and supply us with the containers,” he said. However, he emphasized that they don’t let “just anyone pick them up,” as they have designated volunteers who have been trained and wear protective equipment when picking up the needles.

In recent weeks, Mcdonald said he was driving past an area of Holyoke he has noticed many times. “I have seen this area getting on the highway from Holyoke exits. I’ve always been too afraid to go down on my own,” he said.

He said he, along with two other volunteers, went to Race Street to pick up a two-block section near the canal. “It’s along the canal, which eventually empties into the Connecticut River. We arrived at 10 a.m., cleared the area of Race Street, collected 12 trash bags,” he said.

After the city had disposed of the trash they’d collected, he said they moved to a spot on Jackson Street a few feet into the woods that had become visible since the vegetation from the summer had gone. He called it a “scouting mission” to assess the area and how to handle the cleanup. He said he was shocked at how many needles and trash they found in the area.

“We knew we’d probably find some needles, but they were everywhere and the trash was so thick we haven't gotten nearly all of it,” he said.

Mcdonald said after leaving the area, Richards contacted the Department of Public Works (DPW) and Mayor Alex Morse’s office. “They said they’d be happy to assist us in any way needed when the time arises, they’re also going to contact the administrator of the DPW and arrange that a dumpster be provided from the city,” he said. “We have also contacted Tapestry and they will be there will be employees to assist in the cleanup.”

Should they be allowed, Mcdonald said they were hoping to bring in a Bobcat to make the cleanup easier as it was “the biggest” cleanup they’d done yet. “I’ve never seen anything like it in my entire life,” he said.

The group is recruiting volunteers and is hoping to finish the cleanup on Jan. 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Those interested in volunteering should wear boots and gloves, and if possible bring a shovel or metal rake. Volunteers will be required to sign a waiver and take a ticket at the organization’s gear trailer prior to the pickup.

Those interested in volunteering for the Holyoke cleanup, as well as future cleanups in the Pioneer Valley should join the Make MA Fishing Spots Great Again Facebook Page. Mcdonald said since the group’s inception, volunteers had collected over 12,000 pounds of trash across the Pioneer Valley.

Reminder Publishing reached out to Holyoke DPW superintendent, Michael McManus to see if there were factors that contributed to littering in the area and if there were plans to keep the area clean following the group’s effort. However, Reminder Publishing had not received a response as of press time.