Join us April 11, 2026!
Due to current conditions impacting the Potomac shoreline, this year’s April stewardship event will pivot from our traditional river cleanup to land stewardship projects around our environmental campus. Volunteers will help care for trails, green spaces, and outdoor learning areas – all located away from the Potomac shoreline – ensuring our campus remains safe, welcoming, and ready for students and visitors this spring. While the format is shifting, the goal remains the same: coming together to care for the places that connect our community to nature.
We are continuing to monitor guidance from DC Water and the Maryland Department of the Environment. For the most up-to-date information, we encourage you to visit each agency’s homepage, where they are sharing ongoing advisories and updates. We will also continue to share any event-specific updates as new information becomes available.
Take action for clean land, safe water, and healthy lives.
Learn how the Annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup began and its remarkable impact below.
Cleanup Beginnings
This annual event has grown from a small shoreline cleanup at Piscataway National Park to a watershed wide network that encompasses the length of the Potomac River, which flows 338 miles, from the Allegheny Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay.
Thank You Volunteers
The Cleanup wouldn’t be possible without our incredible site leaders and volunteers throughout the Potomac River Watershed. For more than three decades 150,000+ volunteers have prevented over 8 million pounds of trash from entering the Potomac River.
Momentum For Change
The data collected through the Cleanup is used to inform and evaluate policies in the local region, and has been instrumental in proving the efficacy of programs like Washington DC’s The Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Act of 2009, commonly known as the “Bag Law,” (the first in the country) and encouraging other jurisdictions to follow suit nation-wide.
