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NARROWSBURG – The Upper Delaware Council (UDC) selected a whimsical design by Bonnie Matthews of Narrowsburg to feature on the 2025 commemorative T-shirts that all participants in the 5th Annual Upper Delaware Litter Sweep will receive.

Land-based clean-ups will take place throughout the entire month of April in communities surrounding the bi-state Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River.

This year, volunteers will sport team shirts with a friendly deer and his bird pal reminding litterers, “Don’t Be Trashy!” The safety green shirts will have the UDC’s Land-Water-People slogan on the back and media sponsor WJFF Radio Catskill’s logo on the left short sleeve.

Published illustrator Bonnie Matthews submitted the winning design after seeing the UDC’s first-ever Litter Sweep artwork contest promoted on Instagram earlier this year.
After moving to Narrowsburg from Southern California about 15 months ago, Matthews has been looking for meaningful ways to get involved in the river valley community.

Her 25-year career as an artist, children’s book illustrator, and food photographer, combined with her interests in kayaking, snorkeling, hiking, and wildlife preservation, provides a creative outlet to contribute to her new home base.

“I feel really passionate about clean water and the natural environment. Trash is a huge problem. As a student growing up in Springfield, VA, I did clean-ups in local parks and had done volunteer illustration work for the John Falls Watershed Association in Baltimore, MD and for waterways protection in Costa Mesa, CA,” she says.

Matthews’ work has appeared in over 100 publications, licensed products, and signage. Clients include The National Zoo, John Hopkins Children’s Center, and Land’s End. A piece commissioned by the Mesa Water District, “Set in Motion, a Change for the Ocean”, was installed in the John Wayne Airport to celebrate Earth Month in April 2022. Matthews was selected as an exhibitor at Delaware Valley Arts Alliance’s RiverFest in Narrowsburg last July.

Having studied Communication Arts and Design at Virginia Commonwealth University, Matthews worked as an art director in the Washington DC area while practicing her personal art illustrations at night.

She describes her signature style as “edgy/whimsical, fun and fanciful, and colorful” with imaginative, imperfect characters and scenes, often done as ink lined drawings painted with a gouache effect or done in acrylics for larger works.

Matthews’ designs have been particularly successful in children’s books, which is impactful for her as a child who coped with dyslexia and pored over the illustrations to understand the context of the story. She gets great satisfaction from visiting schools to tell students that they can overcome similar struggles, and to get them excited about books and art.

She served as an adjunct professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and will teach art classes locally at Woodloch Pines Resort.

Always interested in gardening and healthy recipes, Matthews started then sold an organic food company in Minneapolis and became a published cookbook author whose titles include “Eat Your Way Healthy at Trader Joe’s”. Capable of cooking, styling, and photographing the food dishes, Matthews is the lead photographer for the New York Times best-selling series of “Fix-It and Forget-It” cookbooks by Skyhorse Publishing.

She discovered Narrowsburg through visiting a friend’s vacation home. The river recreation, abundance of artists, and interesting food venues called out to her.

“I wanted to start a new chapter and get connected to a different way of life after living in California since 2013. I’m excited to be here,” she says.

Future aspirations include building an art studio, starting a farm, expanding her cooking opportunities, opening a direct-to-consumers online storefront, writing her own children’s books, and getting more involved in teaching and educational circles.

Matthews may be reached at @Bonnie_matthews_illustration, (410) 591-5665, or getbon.matthews@gmail.com.

Leaders and Sponsors

Contact UDC Administrative Support Stephanie Driscoll at (845) 252-3022 or stephanie@upperdelawarecouncil.org to sign up as a Litter Leader or volunteer.

Litter Leaders (individuals, groups, or businesses) organize clean-ups in the Towns of Hancock, Fremont, Delaware, Cochecton, Tusten, Highland, Lumberland, and Deerpark (NY); and Buckingham, Manchester, Damascus, Berlin, Lackawaxen, Shohola, and Westfall Townships (PA). T-shirts, trash bags, gloves, pickers, and safety equipment are provided.

The Upper Delaware Litter Sweep is wholly funded by donations.

To become a sponsor, mail a check payable to “UDC” to: Upper Delaware Council, P.O. Box 192, Narrowsburg, NY 12764 or drop off monetary donations at the 211 Bridge St. office.

Contribute online through the ‘Donate Now’ button on the UDC website at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/upperdelawarecouncil. Donations of $50 and above will be acknowledged in event publicity.