Hackensack Riverkeeper, Inc.

10/13/2026

One of our final public cleanups of the season is coming up soon! 🌿🧤

Join Hackensack Riverkeeper on Saturday, October 17 for our Lincoln Park West Community Cleanup in Jersey City. We’re getting close to the end of our 2026 cleanup season, so this will be one of the last opportunities this year to join us for a public cleanup.

⚠️ Please note the updated start time: we will now begin at 10:00 AM

📅 Saturday, October 17
🕙 10:00 AM–1:00 PM
📍 Joseph J. Jaroschak Field / Lincoln Park West

If you’re planning to attend, please register in advance. An accurate headcount helps us plan event logistics and make sure we bring enough gloves, grabbers, bags, and other supplies for everyone.

🔗 Register here:

https://www.cognitoforms.com/HackensackRiverkeeperInc/_10172026LincolnParkWestPublicCleanup

Come spend a few hours outdoors, meet fellow volunteers, and help us close out another cleanup season by making a difference along the Hackensack River watershed.

We hope to see you there!

10/10/2026

Join us tonight at Foschini Park for Hackensack River Songs, part of the Illumination 250 celebration!

From 6:30–8:00 PM, singers, instrumentalists, paddlers, and dancers will come together for an immersive performance along the shoreline and aboard kayaks on the Hackensack River.

Today is also World Mental Health Day, and it feels especially fitting to spend the evening by the water and surrounded by music. Research has shown that time spent in natural environments, including around water, can support reduced stress and improved well-being, while music has also been associated with lower stress and anxiety and improved mood.

Hackensack Riverkeeper is proud to be part of this unique celebration of the river, the arts, and the Hackensack community.

📍 Foschini Park, Hackensack
📅 Saturday, October 10
🕡 6:30–8:00 PM

Come experience the river in a whole new way. We hope to see you there!

10/07/2026

Captain Bill Sheehan, the Trustees, & Staff of Hackensack Riverkeeper cordially invite you to celebrate 29 years of clean water advocacy and our 2026 honorees:

Veolia
Corporate Environmental Stewardship Award

Meadowlands Research & Restoration Institute
Excellence in Public Service Award

New Milford Councilwoman Lisa Sandhusen
Excellence in Environmental Stewardship Award

For nearly three decades, Hackensack Riverkeeper has been your voice for clean water, public access, and habitat preservation throughout the Hackensack River Watershed and beyond.

With the support of our dedicated partners, volunteers, donors, and community, we’ve helped protect more than 12,000 acres of critical habitat, hold polluters and agencies accountable, engage more than 1,000 volunteers each year to remove tons of debris from our waterways, and expand equitable access to the river.

Your participation helps bring our vision of clean, accessible water and a thriving environment much closer to reality.

Wednesday, October 28 at 6:30 PM
at The Estate at Florentine Gardens in River Vale, NJ.

Click the link to purchase tickets
https://bit.ly/HRIGala2026

09/30/2026

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is continuing its investigation of contamination in the Lower Hackensack River Superfund site. Contractors are currently conducting surveys of the riverbed and shoreline to better understand existing conditions. Through the end of October, community members may see small survey boats and aircraft along the 22-mile stretch between Hudson County and the Oradell Dam.

Beginning in early October, EPA and its contractors will also assess habitat, shoreline conditions, outfalls, and other structures between River Miles 2 and 5.5 near Kearny, Jersey City, and Secaucus. The information collected will help EPA determine the extent of contamination, identify areas for future sampling, and develop early cleanup plans for the site.

09/27/2026

We hope everyone is staying safe and dry as this nor’easter moves through the region this weekend.

While many of us are spending a little more time indoors, it’s also a good opportunity to make one final push for our Over The Edge campaign.

Last weekend, longtime Hackensack Riverkeeper supporter John Sailer once again went Over The Edge in support of our work protecting the Hackensack River and its watershed.

The rappel may be over, but the fundraising campaign is still open through October 2, which means there’s still time to show your support.

Contributions to Hackensack Riverkeeper help support the work we do throughout the year, including river cleanups, environmental education, water-quality monitoring, advocacy, and getting people directly involved in caring for the watershed.

If you’ve been meaning to contribute, this is the final stretch. Help us finish the campaign strong and support John’s Over The Edge effort before the deadline.

Thank you to everyone who has already donated, shared the campaign, or supported John and Hackensack Riverkeeper along the way. And again, please stay safe during this weekend’s storm.

09/23/2026

🍂 We’re Heading Into the Final Stretch of Cleanup Season! 🍂

Hackensack Riverkeeper’s 2026 cleanup season is starting to wind down, but we still have a few opportunities left to get out, lend a hand, and make a difference before the season wraps up.

Join us for our upcoming Lincoln Park West Community Cleanup in Jersey City!

📅 Saturday, October 17
🕘 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
📍 Joseph J. Jaroschak Field / Lincoln Park West
200 Lincoln Hwy, Jersey City, NJ 07306

We’ll be working together to remove litter and debris from the area and help keep this part of the watershed cleaner for the community and local wildlife.

Whether you’ve joined us at multiple cleanups this year or this would be your first one, we’d love to have you out with us as we finish the season strong.

09/21/2026

🎣🍂 KIDS’ AUTUMN ANGLING ADVENTURE! 🍂🎣

Grab the family and join Hackensack Riverkeeper and the Hudson River Fishermen’s Association for a morning of fishing at Laurel Hill Park!

Whether you’re brand new to fishing or already love getting out on the water, this family-friendly event is open to anglers ages 4 to 99.

📅 Saturday, September 26
⏰ 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
📍 Fishing Promenade at Laurel Hill Park, Secaucus, NJ
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Ages 4–99
🎟️ Registration required — limited to 45 participants

Space is limited, so be sure to register early and come spend a fall morning fishing along the Hackensack River with us!

Register here: https://bit.ly/4hi2JBI

09/16/2026

THIS WEEKEND: JOHN IS GOING OVER THE EDGE!

This Saturday, John Sailer is taking a 21-story leap for the Hackensack River! 🌊

John has supported Hackensack Riverkeeper for nearly two decades, and this weekend he’s once again going OVER THE EDGE to help raise the funds that keep our work moving.

Events like this are a huge part of what gives us the ability to do what we do. Your support helps put cleanup supplies in volunteers’ hands, canoes on the water, environmental education in our communities, and our team out in the watershed protecting and advocating for the Hackensack River.

Every cleanup we organize, every volunteer we engage, and every new person we connect with the river takes resources and fundraisers like Over the Edge help make that work possible.

John is willing to rappel 21 stories for the river. You don’t have to go quite that far. 😅

Sponsor John, share this post, and help fuel another year of protecting the Hackensack River and its watershed!

09/15/2026

Secaucus data center leaked over 5,000 gallons of diesel fuel into Anderson Creek, a tributary to the Hackensack River. Stay tuned for more information.

The spill affected a tributary of the Hackensack River. Authorities say cleanup is underway.