Community members in Frenchtown, with the support of the borough, have launched the Frenchtown River Ambassadors (FRA), a project of Sustainable Frenchtown.
FRA volunteers welcome visitors at tents, which are stationed on Saturdays and Sundays throughout the summer in the parking lot south of Frenchtown bridge, and when volunteer capacity permits, at Old Frenchtown Field and 12th Street.
Volunteer ambassadors host an interactive children’s environmental program at 11 a.m. and a river clean-up at 4 p.m., each day. Visitors are also offered brochures with a map of Frenchtown’s amenities, as well as a coupon to present to participating local businesses offering seasonal promotions.
The project was designed and launched by Frenchtown residents: Environmental Commission member and biologist Susan Quackenbush; artist and photographer Jorge Sanchez; former borough council member Holly Low; and local activists Alleigh Sobey and Maggie Cooke. Six more residents serve as volunteer captains, including Pastor Peter Mantell of the United Methodist Church, while an additional 20-plus community members are volunteering as River Ambassadors.
“Frenchtown has become an increasingly popular tourist destination, but during summer 2020, the community experienced a dramatic spike in river visitors, due in part to the pandemic,” according to a written statement provided by Sustainable Frenchtown. “The Borough managed the increase in garbage and parking issues, while complaints about crowds, parking, and litter – as well as hate speech directed at river visitors – piled up on the local social media page,” the statement read.
In response, the Frenchtown River Ambassadors project is “committed to the philosophy that public parks, biodiversity, and open spaces are held in the public trust, and should be accessible to residents and visitors alike, free from discrimination.”
“We decided to take the initiative to do something positive for a healthy coexistence among the people who visit us, our own neighbors and above all, for the…
