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August 16, 2026 Speed River

Trading Places

Newly hatched snapping turtles released into the Speed River near our cleanup area

We went back on the Speed River to look for the rest of the bunk bed we partially recovered on Friday.

Didn’t find it. Instead, we found three submerged car tires, plus one large bag of debris off a stretch we’d already cleaned once this month. The water in the river is much lower, allowing us to see more debris at the bottom (like the unexpected bike saddle).

At the start of our outing, we met a rehabilitation team from RARE releasing snapping turtle hatchlings into the same water. The eggs had been found in a nearby parking lot and incubated. On our trip we also saw a large snapping turtle covered in moss while we were juggling river tires. Something good going into the river at the same time something bad was coming out of it.

Here’s a quick video summary of our cleanup:

Three Tires retrieved from Speed River
3 Bags
24 kg Debris
35 Items Recycled
2 Hrs

Notable Finds

Three car tires; Recyclables: 18 cans, 17 bottles

Wildlife Observed

Snapping turtle babies, snapping turtle, painted turtle

Cleanup Location

78+ Cleanups 800+ kg Debris Removed 130+ Volunteer Hours 1,700+ Items Recycled 15+ River Corridors