The Christina River Watershed Cleanup: Celebrating 30 Years
The Cooch-Dayett Mill portion of the Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site will once again participate in the 30th annual Christina River Cleanup from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 2. The site is one of several along the Christina River and its tributaries where volunteers can spend a couple hours to improve the local watershed and help the environment in the weeks leading up to Earth Day on April 22.
The Christina Conservancy and its partners launched the cleanup in 1992 as a way to remove trash and man-made debris from this beautiful watershed while also raising public awareness about pollution. Since the cleanup started, more than 360 tons of tires, appliances, household items and other trash have been collected for proper disposal.
The event has a deep connection with the Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site as the late Edward W. Cooch, Jr., was a founder of the event and participated every year he could. He spent much of his life advocating for the local environment and for almost 20 years he served as president of the Christina Conservancy. The site’s history stretches back to indigenous habitation thousands of years ago and has military significance as the site of the only Revolutionary War battle in Delaware, the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge. The property was occupied by eight generations of Cooch family members and many generations of other families who worked on the farmland and in the mills.
Cooch’s Bridge is one of a dozen sites in northern New Castle County, from Brandywine Hundred south through Glasgow and Bear, participating in the cleanup. Due to the opening of trout season, White Clay Creek State Park will hold its cleanup from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 16.
Space is limited for the in-person event. Interested volunteers should register at ChristinaRiverCleanup.org, by clicking on the volunteer tab and selecting “Cooch-Dayett Mill” to sign up.