A group of thirty volunteers gathered recently to clean up an illegal dumpsite off Julian Road in Moshannon State Forest, outside of State College in Central Pennsylvania. Tires and household litter are easy enough to pick up and remove from the watershed, but it took some effort to remove heavier appliances from the dump, like stoves and dishwashers.

Walt Ebaugh is with the Clearwater Conservancy, one of the groups organizing the effort. He says the area's rough terrain, which makes the site difficult to keep clean, also makes the spot attractive to dumpers.

"It's a nice steep hillside dropping down off the edge of the road," he says. "It's been, apparently, a very convenient spot for people who had trash they wanted to get rid of."

Clearwater Conservancy outreach coordinator Jason Bell says all sorts of things get thrown into illegal dumpsites. "We have about fifty plus years of illegal dumping," Bell says, looking out at the collected trash. "Refrigerators, dishwashers, a lot of tires, furniture. It's just been a dumping ground for locals that aren't necessarily stewardly."

Bell says the clean-up is an annual event, which began years ago to help keep Centre County's Spring Creek clean, but has since expanded to a number of sites throughout the watershed.

In Western Pennsylvania, another team of volunteers is working to remove pollutants from Connoquessing Creek. 120 sixth graders from Riverside Middle School in Beaver County trek up and down the creek's banks to pick out trash. They wear gloves to protect themselves from chemicals leaked into the water by local industry.

Sixth grader Shannon Woods says the work her class is doing in the water reaches far beyond the creek's boundaries. "Whenever you go down the road, you see trash and stuff everywhere," she says. " I felt bad for the community, because they have to live with it, and so I thought it would be something nice to do for the community."

According to math and science teacher Vaughn Hudspath, that's not all the kids are doing for the community. "These students are educating their parents, their relatives, their peers who aren't in the class, to look at what we need to do."

Sixth grade teacher Alicia Dwyer started Project Clean Stream, as the program is called, specifically to combine lessons with hands-on action. "It shows the kids that it's not just testing the water," she says. "I felt that this was a way to make them feel involved and empower them in their community and set an example for the rest of the school."

At the end of its first year, the project seems to have been a success. Even now that the school year draws to a close, Dwyer says she expects as many as 50 students to continue their efforts at monthly cleanups throughout the summer.

Ann Sinclair Murray and Debbie Hoy contributed to this report.