The White Oak Earth Day cleanup was a success

On Saturday, April 20, 2013, the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection held a successful stream cleanup in honor of Earth Day.

Volunteers formed a chain to move tires out of the park.

50 volunteers were able to collect 100 bags of trash and 58 tires! A few bulky metal items were also collected, including the most interesting item found, a U. S. Navy synchro generator. A dedicated group of high school volunteers were also able to install 48 storm drain markers around the neighborhood.

Photo by Yichao Peng

The cleanup was one of more than twenty held that morning in conjunction with the Anacostia Watershed Society‘s Earth Day Cleanups.  The DEP event was located in the White Oak neighborhood of Silver Spring, in and along the banks of a stream that flows into Paint Branch and eventually into the Anacostia River.

Strangest find of the day: a U.S. Navy generator

Area community groups played an active role in the cleanup, including the White Oak Basketball group and the Housing Opportunities Commission Georgian Court Teen Club. All of the volunteers worked diligently throughout the day to pick up as much trash as possible from the area.

Our volunteers were amazing!

Storm drain marker
Photo by Yichao Peng

Once the cleanup was finished, participants were invited to join DEP and local watershed group, Eyes of Paint Branch, for a celebration at the White Oak Community Center. June Henderson, a local resident, generously organized a lunch for everyone to enjoy after a hard day of work. At the party, different groups of volunteers connected to discuss their service projects and potential future events for the neighborhood. Everyone agreed, the White Oak Earth Cleanup was a success and served as an inspiration for everyone to be better environmental stewards.

Volunteers collected 100 bags of trash and 58 tires!

Thank you to Eyes of Paint Branch for being our partner on this event. More photos can be found at the My Green Montgomery Facebook page or the @MyGreenMC Twitter page.

By Leslie Wilcox, Watershed Outreach Planner, DEP