Three trash pickups were planned for March 9th. Thanks to all coordinators, participants, and all support provided by AmeriCorps Ambassador Program, Hamilton Township, Mercer County, NJ DEP, Sierra Club, as well as Friends for the Abbott Marshlands!!
Duck Island: About 50 volunteers of all ages participated in a trash pick-up along the Delaware River on Duck Island as part of the annual DEP-sponsored “Dash for the Trash”. Most of the attendees had never visited the Marshlands before and were pleased to learn about the diversity of wetland habitats in the surrounding area. Volunteers gathered about 35 bags of recyclable materials and just as much trash, including several 5-gallon buckets, tires, and even a transmission housing. Many local boy scout, cub scout, and girl scout troops. as well as the NJ Youth Corps of Trenton and NJ American Water were represented among the volunteers. NJDEP, Hamilton Township, Mercer County, and Friends for the Marsh provided support. Lauren Frazee, AmeriCorps NJ Watershed Ambassador, WMA 20, was coordinator.
Spring Lake / Roebling Park: Unfortunately, there were still 2” of snow on the ground Saturday at 9 AM, and because of safety concerns (folks slipping or stepping on trash) and that trash wasn’t visible, the pickup scheduled for Roebling Park was canceled. Several people will meet to clean up this area on their own. Robert Sokol (Sierra Club) was the coordinator.
Watson Creek / Roebling Park:
Seven participants collected more than 600 pounds of trash from the wetlands along Watson’s Creek from canoes launched from the Watson Woods / Roebling Park boat launch. Clean up in this area was coordinated by Leona and George Fluck as part of the NJ Sierra Club’s Water Sentinels commitment to the Delaware River watershed.