The Potomac River and Seneca Creek are the arteries running straight through every program we do here at Calleva! These incredible natural resources are often overlooked if you don’t take the time to experience, enjoy, and care for them! That is why Calleva is excited to be a part of the 29th annual Potomac Watershed Cleanup Day on Saturday April 8, 2017.
The trash free Potomac Watershed Initiative, also known as the Alice Ferguson Foundation, spearheads a huge river cleanup day every year in April. Last year, more than 9,400 volunteers worked as part of Alice Ferguson Day and other trash removal events in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Calleva’s staff, campers and their families, and some dedicated friends of the Potomac are leading the effort at Riley’s Lock.
Calleva will have teams of staff and volunteers on foot and in canoes picking up trash from the riverbank, on the towpath, and everywhere in between. The Canoe Cruisers Association will be in canoes, gathering trash along the banks of Seneca Creek. We gather our “treasures” into bags and the good people from Alice Ferguson make sure that trash and recycling gets to the right place. Last year we found several tires, a plastic barrel, along with a huge number of plastic beverage bottles, golf balls, and the usual debris.
Alice Ferguson Day is not just a great chance to be outside on a spring day, it also serves as a reminder of just how much impact we have on the waterways. So much of what we leave behind, often accidentally, ends up in our creeks, streams, rivers, and bay. It’s awesome to see how beautiful the park can be when it is trash-free!
For more information or to signup as a volunteer please contact Ashley McEwan in the Calleva office.
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