Great South Bay Cleanup Day Attracts a Crew of Volunteers in Patchogue

In two hours on a cloudy, cold and blustery day, the litter scattered around Tuthill’s Creek in Patchogue shrunk bit by bit.

Save the Great South Bay hosted one of its many cleanups around Long Island on Oct. 17 in Patchogue. The non-profit group works to clear litter and debris from creeks across Long Island. It was the organization’s 20th annual Cleanup Day.

The organization was founded by two friends who graduated high school in 1977. James Bertsch, creek defender co-chairperson, said the bay “when they left, was beautiful, cool, clean … they came back to a dead bay” in 2012. “It was all like all they could talk about at the [high school] reunion,” he said.

They wanted to fix it, and they made a commitment to do so. After about five years, the organization started to find its footing and began expanding. “We offer people an alternative chance to be a part of community, to belong to something, that purpose,” Bertsch said.

The organization has just a handful of employees and Bertsch emphasized the importance of the volunteers, 30 of whom showed up to help clean up the creek. 

Brad Shaw is a creek defender for Patchogue along with Jennifer George, of Patchogue and Brian Pendergast, of Patchogue. Shaw works in waste management, but for three years, he’s been helping organize cleanups in the village.

“Anything that’s flowing into the bay, we’re trying to clean that up so we can make sure the environment is clean,” Shaw said. Shaw’s brother, Todd, is the president of Save the Great South Bay and has been dedicated to this conservation work for even longer than Shaw.

George grew up near Pine Lake in Middle Island and said she would often cross the creek and cut through the woods to reach her friends’ houses as a teenager. This inspired her to revisit that waterway and help clear any litter when she got older.

In total, there are 30 creek defenders, spanning across Long Island from Mastic to Merrick and cleanups are hosted during the fall and spring. This year, Save the Great South Bay had a cleanup on the beach in Davis Park, which is located on Fire Island. Shaw said they plan to start expanding to the communities in Fire Island.

Joseph Tetonic, of Lindenhurst, is an avid volunteer for Save the Great South Bay. Tetonic said his work is “connected to the Earth, like microclimates, not the whole world, but just nearby, the Long Island water cycle.”

The nonprofit was joined by volunteers from the Suffolk County Soil & Water Conservation District, The Knights of Columbus Patchogue Council No. 725, The Rotary Club of Patchogue, Beautify LI, Be The Example and PuroClean of Jericho.

“That’s kind of our M.O. is to work with coalitions... It’s more about making awareness, it’s also about taking action. And that is something that’s important to us as an organization,” Bertsch said.

The Suffolk County Soil & Water Conservation District awarded Save the Great South Bay with a significant grant that paid for equipment including gloves, vests and pickers. PuroClean of Jericho provided dumpsters for this cleanup and a previous one at the same location.

Corey Humphrey, the Suffolk County Soil & Water Conservation district manager, said they’ve helped fund these events through the county’s community assistance program, CAP, for the past two years. It funds shovel-ready projects that focus on conservation and protection through a matching grant system. 

“The Great South Bay creek defenders brought so much match to the application that it was such an easy project to fund,” Humphrey said. Humphrey explained that he’s seen the bag of safety vests completely empty at some cleanups. “This is a clear showing that this is what the community wants, we’re happy to be a part of it,” he said.

The Knights of Columbus helped Save the Great South Bay with check-ins and “turned out a great team,” Bertsch said in an email.

But for a lot of the members of the Knights of Columbus, it was their first time at a cleanup.

David Murch, of Farmingville, said, “You don’t realize how many people throw stuff out the window, and unfortunately there’s a big drop so it’s hard to get all of it and there’s thorns in there.” “What happens is you see somebody throwing something out the window, it’s contagious, the next guy says, ‘Ah sounds good,’ ” Murch said.

Steve Thompson, of Medford, said, “As I’m picking stuff up, I can’t believe why it’s there in the first place.” 

John George, who serves as a member for the Knights of Columbus, explained how vapes, nip bottles, balloons and confetti are the most common things picked up at the cleanups.

Shaw noted “beds, shopping carts, and garbage, and barbecues and all this other stuff” at one of the cleanup sites on Saturday. 

Before noon, countless garbage bags had been filled and boots were well muddied.

“It’s always great to have these cleanups,” Jennifer George said. “It’s great because it’s good to know people really care and they’re going to do something about it.” 

Erin Wetterhahn is a reporter with The SBU Media Group, part of Stony Brook University’s School of Communication and Journalism’s Working Newsroom program for students and local media.