More than 1,000 volunteers particpate in River Sweep

More than 1,000 volunteers participated in the 14th Annual River Sweep, a volunteer community clean-up project that focused on shorelines, tributaries, roadsides and recreation areas in honor of Earth Day, that took place on Friday, April 25, and Saturday, April 26, in Harford and Cecil counties.

In Havre de Grace, volunteers removed 900 pounds of trash including five propane tanks, 12 tires and one monster tire, large metal cylinders reminiscent of airplane parts, a shopping cart and car batteries in addition to other trash and debris. Volunteers included individuals, families, Girl Scout Troops and senior citizens plus Havre de Grace Green Team, CAT (Citizens Against Trash), Havre de Grace Recreation Committee and volunteers from Vulcan Materials.

In Marina Park in Port Deposit, volunteers filled a 15-yard dumpster with trash and debris.

In the Octoraro Creek area, volunteers collected approximately 30 bags of trash including two tires, carpet and a tarp. At the Conowingo Creek Boat Launch, volunteers from Perryville Middle School, Conowingo Elementary School, Rising Sun High School, Conowingo Lions Club and MSSA collected 100 bags of trash and debris.

The Perryville volunteers, which included a Brownie Troop, families from Conowingo Elementary School and staffers from Hollywood Casino at Perryville plus those with canoes and kayaks who visited Garrett Island, removed about two tons of trash including 10 tires, several compressed air or acetylene tanks, a full-size refrigerator and a large plastic tank.

At the National Historic Tome School, volunteers removed five dump truck loads of trash and 34 bags of debris. The debris was repurposed on another location of the stie to fertilize the grounds. Volunteers at the National Historic Tome School included the Perryville High School men's lacrosse team.

At Principio Furnace, students from Perryville Middle School cleared brush and debris from the creek and historic site, and on May 6, Elkton Middle School students will complete the job.

The total amount of trash and debris collected at the 2014 River Sweep is still being calculated. However, over the past 13 years, River Sweep volunteers have removed more than 72 tons of trash from area roads and waterways.

In addition to the Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway, sponsors of the 2014 River Sweep included Maryland Heritage Areas Authority and Exelon Generation. In-kind services such as trash disposal were provided by Harford and Cecil County Governments, the Town of Port Deposit, Perryville and the City of Havre de Grace.

Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway is a nonprofit organization based in Darlington whose mission is to stimulate local economic activity by developing a linkage to natural, historic and cultural resources through land and water recreational trails. To date, 22 miles of continuous public recreation trails connecting Harford and Cecil counties have been constructed. The trail system also has been designated a priority segment of both the Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail and the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. For more information about Lower Susquehanna Heritage Greenway, visit www.hitourtrails.com.