Enjoy a wonderful paddle while helping cleanup the St. Mary’s River, Saturday, April 9, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. during the 3rd Annual St. Mary’s River Cleanup hosted by the St. Mary’s River Watershed Association as part of the Alice Ferguson Foundation’s 23rd Annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup.
Volunteers will paddle the St. Mary’s River Water Trail picking up trash from the Great Mills Canoe/Kayak Launch to Adkins Road, continuing on to St. Mary’s College of Maryland. The public is invited to participate. Last year volunteers collected 20 bags of trash and recyclables, 12 tires, and approximately 300 tons of loose trash from the St. Mary’s River.
“The St. Mary’s River Cleanup gives the community an opportunity to improve the St. Mary’s River while enjoying the river first-hand” said Lindsay Tempinson, St. Mary’s River Watershed Association Program Coordinator.
Meet at the Great Mills Canoe/Kayak Launch, off MD Route 5, at 9 a.m. Bring your own canoe or kayak, life vest, and paddling gear. A few canoes or kayaks will be provided, so please contact the St. Mary’s River Watershed Association if you will need one.
To RSVP or for more information, please email info@StMarysRiver.org or call 301-862-3517.
Trash and litter has negative effects in many areas of life in the region:
- It harms wildlife;
- costs taxpayers precious funds for cleanup and removal;
- is a public health threat by increasing breeding grounds for virus carrying insects
- and rodents;
- decreases property values;
- and hurts businesses, recreation, and tourism.
There are more than 350 cleanup sites in Maryland, Washington DC, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania that include not only stream beds and shorelines, but also fields, forests, parking lots and other ‘inland’ sites, where the trash can be removed before it enters streams and other waterways. Visit www.PotomacCleanup.org or call 202-973-8203 for additional sites.