Adopt-A-Stream Comes to Fallsgrove
This past winter I was very bothered by all the trash in the Fallsgrove neighborhood trails and streams. I found a Rockville city trash program similar to the I Love A Clean San Diego which I had participated in. The following is an article I wrote for my neighborhood newsletter after my 1st “organized” trash pickup event. Since this article was printed a whopping 2 people are interested in joining me. Not so great returns considering how large my community is. But, I’m proud that I did something about the problem and I know it will get bigger next year. I’m glad my karate friend Sarah Adams made me participate in all her trash clean-up programs in San Diego. Thanks Sarah and give Monte the cat a kiss for me!
“Adopt-A-Stream Comes to Fallsgrove. On Saturday, April 4th, the city of Rockville held a Regional Stream Cleanup as part of Earth Day in several locations including the Fallsgrove community. A small group of six volunteers filled a large pick-up truck of trash from one of the two steams that run through the community. The cleaned stream is located behind the Community Center’s playground and along the walking path. Rockville Channel 11 showed up that day to film the Earth Day event and interview participants.
Fallsgrove resident Joana Conklin volunteered at the event and comments “I walk daily through the neighborhood’s trails and get upset at all the trash in sight. I’m really proud to have been able to participate in the cleanup which helps our environment and benefits the community by keeping it beautifulâ€.
Ultimately all of Fallsgrove streams are part of the Watts Branch watershed, which flows into the Potomac River Basin that drains into the Chesapeake Bay. Clean, healthy streams are important to Rockville—not just to preserve the quality of open spaces, but also to protect the water for the plants, insects and other animals that call these streams home. What happens in this local neighborhood’s ecosystem impacts the Chesapeake Bay’s overall health.
Volunteers found various types of trash in and around the river. The most abundant was plastic grocery bags, drinking bottles and bags of dog waste. There was a large amount of vinyl flooring disposed in the streams as well. The most interesting finds were a pair of crutches and a scull of a buck deer with antlers that were a foot long. The only wildlife encountered during the clean up were several large rabbits.
The stream cleanup on April 4th was a good start at addressing the area’s litter problem. The City of Rockville’s Environmental Management division organized this first clean up as a way to tackle streams that have not yet been adopted in their Adopt-A-Stream program. The Adopt-A-Stream program is a citywide litter campaign in which community residents can take an active role in the health and appearance of the watershed they live near by “adopting†a stream. The adopting group would pledge to perform two cleanups per year. The city provides gloves and trash bags, and picks up the debris collected from the event. Clean ups usually last about 3 hours. Volunteers need to wear long pants and sturdy shoes or rubber boots. This is a kid friendly activity along the walking paths, but certain areas may be best for adults due to mud, water and prickly rose bushes.
There is another stream and two ponds in the Fallsgrove community that are in dire need of cleaning as well. If there is enough interest, the Fallsgrove community could adopt the streams and hold another neighborhood-wide cleanup to maintain the momentum.
A Watershed Protection Specialist from the City of Rockville’s Environmental Management division will hopefully be giving a presentation at an upcoming board meeting that is yet to be determined. Anyone interested in the Adopt-A-Stream program for Fallsgrove, volunteering at the next cleanup or attending the appropriate meeting to talk discuss it can contact Genna Drazen.”
Posted: April 4th, 2009 under Hobbies.
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