Wissahickon Creek-Wide Cleanup 2011

Over 300 volunteers worked throughout the morning of April 30 pulling trash and debris out of Wissahickon Creek during the Annual Creek Clean Up, organized by the Friends of the Wissahickon and the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association. Among the volunteers were employees from Prudential Fox & Roach Trident Group, students from Germantown Friends School's Environmental Action Club, and employees from REI Conshohocken, a sponsor of the clean up efforts in Wissahickon Valley Park. Special thanks to The Cedars House for free smoothie samples for our volunteers!

This spring marks the 41st anniversary of Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association's annual Creek Clean Up, and the second year that FOW has teamed up with WVWA to clean the Wissahickon Creek from top to bottom. Volunteers of all ages cleaned the creek, the surrounding trails, and the many tributaries of the Wissahickon Creek. Armed with bags, volunteers collected some unusual items, including: a couch, playhouse, deep fat fryer, I-Phone, bike frame, and countless golf balls.

"The most interesting thing found in Wissahickon Valley Park today was a huge carpet," says David Bower, Volunteer Coordinator for Fairmount Park. "It had probably been in the creek for a number of years and it took about 15 people to dig it out of the silt and the mud and cut it up into smaller pieces and drag it up out of the park."

Following the clean up, volunteers shared stories at WVWA's Talkin' Trash picnic in Fort Washington State Park, with food provided by Whole Foods Market of North Wales.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• fow
• wvwa
• wissahickon
• creek
• fairmount
• park
• philadelphia
• devil's pool
• cleanup