Get ready for Green Up Day with a free ‘Culvert Crawlers’ workshop April 22 in Proctorsville

Culverts are designed to convey stormwater runoff but can easily become clogged with fallen leaves, vegetation and debris, which can lead to flooding.

On Green Up Day. Saturday, May 2, residents are encouraged to take the time to check culverts, ditches and drains — while out picking up trash — to make sure that they are clear.

To help community members learn more about culverts, ditches and drains and how to care for them, a free workshop that is open to the public is being held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 22 at Cavendish Fletcher Community Library, 573 Main St. in Proctorsville. Everyone is welcome to attend.

As part of the workshop, participants will download and use an open-source phone app to monitor culvert conditions and report them to road crews. An advantage of the app is that one can continually monitor the local culverts, ditches and drains and compare changes seasonally and annually. The workshop also includes how to clear out culverts safely, ridding them of vegetation and debris that could impede their flow. Please note that no crawling in culverts is involved.

Culvert Crawlers is a citizen-science, grassroots effort to prevent flooding. It is a collaboration of the Black River Action Team, Cavendish Connects and the Rural Rivers Project at Dartmouth College.

As part of Green Up Day, there will be special Culvert Crawler teams (comes with cool stuff) in Cavendish and Springfield.

For more information on the workshop or to register for one of the Culvert Crawlers teams on Green Up Day, call 802-226-7807 or e-mail culvert.crawlers@gmail.com or cavendishconnects@gmail.com,