Thousands of Vermonters on Saturday took part Green Up Day, in the state’s annual spring roadside cleanup tradition. But Norwich’s Chris Rimmer has put his own feathered twist on the event.
For the past eight years, Rimmer has led a group of birders to pick up litter and to keep eyes on the sky.
This year, Rimmer took his group to the intersection of the Ompompanoosuc River and the Connecticut, where they not only cleaned up but chipped away at Rimmer’s Norwich 2019 Year of the Bird program, which hopes to have residents and visitors hit 175 bird species logged in the eBird app in town this year.
And Saturday’s expedition did yield more than roadside refus. Five species were added to the eBird tally, including a horned grebe — Rimmer, executive director of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, said it was the first time he’d seen the waterbird in town.
Green Up Day itself, now in its 49th year, happens on the first Saturday each May. Republican Gov. Phil Scott said the annual effort shows residents’ commitment to keeping the state and natural resources clean and litter-free.
That’s a worthy goal to Rimmer, and the birders did clean up their share of trash. But they were clear about what brought them out on a dreary weekend morning.
“It’s just an excuse to go birding,” Rimmer said.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
