Scenic Dartmouth Pond Is Looking Better Thanks to Volunteers

Sometimes it takes a village to strengthen a community. Dartmouth has found a way to come together to make a difference.

Thanks to Dartmouth Rotary Club, Cornell Pond is looking a lot cleaner these days. Volunteers gathered last weekend on Old Fall River Road for their annual cleanup campaign. Everyone involved began picking up sticks, weed-whacking, removing briars and raking up old leaves simply out of the goodness of their hearts.

Gloria Bancroft, a member of the Finance Committee and Soil Conservation Board, posted her appreciation on Facebook.

"Huge shoutout to the Dartmouth Rotary Club for assisting neighbors in the annual Cornell Pond Cleanup on Old Fall River Road," she wrote. "Help keep our parks clean."

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The area to the right of the pond's parking lot hadn't been touched in quite some time.

"It's been three years since they cleaned this part of the pond," Dartmouth Rotary President-Elect Moe Lemieux said. "There's been substantial growth since then and needed a thorough cleanup."

As for next year, the Rotary Club and all involved plan on expanding the cleaning project with the ultimate goal of creating a connection between the pond and Dartmouth Natural Resources Trust properties.

"It's a neighborhood fishing spot and I want to try to keep it clean and presentable," Lemieux said. "We plan on doing more intensive and heavier pruning, but are first working on getting permission from the town, hoping for next spring, 2023."

Last year, the group worked on the area to the left of the parking lot and continue to maintain it to preserve the hard work that was put into the cleaning process.