A Bit of Clean-up

Wow, what a glorious day! In the course of 24 hours, the weather prediction for this morning went from the predicted 60s and thunderstorms to the actual 70s and partly cloudy.

I participated in the Potomac River Watershed Clean Up through REI at Pohick Bay Regional Park (part of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority) with friends Moe and Johnny.

We got there around 9 in the morning, and found that there were 12 other people there (15 total). After meeting up with everyone and doing the usual paperwork (waivers, stuff just in case we die or something, etc.), we were given our equipment. The equipment I speak of is a pair of gloves, a blue trash bag, an orange trash bag, and a grabber. Recyclables go in one, trash in the other. Our main goal was to clear out a few acres of land along the shoreline where winds along with high tide would wash up a lot of trash.

We started at a place off one of the trails near Pohick Bay and worked our way along the shore, picking up trash as we came to it. One of the most common items we found were tennis balls. I suspect there are a lot of dogs out there wondering where their favorite fetch-ball went! There was much trash to be found, in every nook and cranny of exposed tree roots, covered by driftwood, and more. I dared to enter a bramble patch wearing my shorts and long sleeved shirt, which ended up being quite the ordeal. I won’t make that mistake ever again, I assure you! As the bags filled up, we would take them back to go get empty ones.

When all was said and done, we were quite satisfied with our results. We collected more than 30 bags of recyclables, 25 bags of trash, 4 tires, and much more that totaled more than a ton of stuff! And the area that we cleared out was visibly improved, so much so in some parts that you wouldn’t have even known there used to be trash there.

It was a fun way to spend a morning off work and get outside. I’m glad I participated in this event as it was very fulfilling to give back to the environment. I will try to do this again next year.