LUDLOW, Vt. – With humble thanks, the Black River Action Team (BRAT) gratefully accepts a check for $850 from the Claremont Savings Bank Foundation grant program. The money will go directly toward the purchase of equipment for several projects this year, including special heavy vinyl tarps used to manage invasive phragmites in Plymouth, Vt.; a new pop-up canopy with sides to replace an aging one with a bent frame, to be used at various outdoor events such as the upcoming Insect Festival at VINS in July; and several new Secchi disks, used to gauge water clarity in the lakes and ponds that BRAT volunteers monitor each summer.
An entirely volunteer-operated organization, the BRAT has been growing and expanding since its inception in 2000, with a strong emphasis on citizen science and pragmatic projects that improve and protect the health of the Black River and all the tributary streams within the 202-square mile watershed in Windsor County. To learn more about the CSB Foundation, log on to the “about us” tab at www.claremontsavings.bank. Contact BRAT Director Kelly Stettner to find out how you can participate by emailing blackrivercleanup@gmail.com, or leaving a voice message at 802-738-0101.