WATERBURY, Conn. — Working well below the Mixmaster interchange, with cars and trucks speeding along Route 8 and Interstate 84 east and west, a team of teens was busy cleaning out the Naugatuck River Monday.
Every summer, the Waterbury Police Athletic League has a group of teenagers who spend part of their time off from school as part of the River Brigade.
Kevin Zak, the supervisor of the Waterbury PAL River Brigade and president of the Naugatuck River Revival Group, said the experience for teens provides opportunities to learn and act on behalf of the environment.
“Once they put their first boot in the water, they are changed for life,” said Zak, who then added, “they move debris that would stay here forever, some of this debris has been here for a 100 years.”
14-year-old Jayzire Watts, who is new to the PAL River Brigade this summer, said, “I chose to be out here, it’s good for our community to be fixing up our rivers.”
After helping to remove a truck tire from the middle of the river, fellow team member on the River Brigade, 14-year-old Aden Crensha, added, “this is good for the environment and it’s a good cause out here.”
Zak, who continues to lead the Brigade's clean-up efforts on the Naugatuck River summer after summer, said their contributions always make a difference.
“The wildlife down here is absolutely gorgeous,” Zak said, “and building back this river is really the goal.”
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Jimmy Altman is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at jaltman@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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