The original plan for the day was to do a clean-up paddle around Easton on either the Lehigh or Delaware Rivers with Leigh Ann Statakos. The plan changed the day before when Leigh Ann was contacted by a member of the Brodhead Watershed Association. She was informed that Minisink Park in the Delaware Water Gap was inundated with people over the previous weekend and was trashed. Workers Smithfield Township had already filled two dumpsters with what was left behind, but we decided to check it out for ourselves. When we arrived we quickly found out portions of the park especially along the Brodhead Creek were still a mess. Grabbed some bags and started working on it. Just minutes later a news crew from WBRE pulled in and came over and started talking to us about the mess. They asked if they could film the clean-up and we both did short interviews with them. You can view their story here: WBRE Report During the time they were there I did not take many photos, so all the ones in this post are after the crew left. I do have to say I was impressed with both the reporter and the cameraman. They got right into the trash piles with us and even took a small bag out themselves!
There were many piles along the trailside to the Brodhead which looked like this. The amazing thing is that those who left this stuff bagged it all up, but instead of taking it to one of the garbage cans in the park they just threw the bags off the side of the trail scattering all the trash around. I can't make sense of it at all.
Along with the piles of party trash we also removed around half a dozen diapers. I have repeatedly voiced my overall disgust with this specific trash item in this blog. This should not be acceptable to anyone.
One of the oddest finds of the day was this bag of flowers plucked from the water. Does anyone know why someone would be collecting these or what they would be used for?
When we brought what we had collected up to the park, we met the Supervisor for Smithfield Township, Brian Barrett, who was nice enough to take this photo for us. All of us discussed possible solutions if this problem persists in the future. Already the township has restricted access to the Brodhead by posting the area, from the photos I have seen from this past weekend that is the best thing that can be done. Mr. Barrett and another worker from Smithfield were kind enough to take the non-recyclables from us and we loaded the rest in my car. Leigh Ann and I weren't done for the day though. We still had another bank to clean and decided to do a paddle down to the Delaware to hopefully take some trash off the river!
With the boats in the water we started down stream. First stop was the bank on the left.
There is not much of a walkable bank on this side of the creek, yet there still was a lot of trash. Ever use a discarded sandal to pick up a used diaper? After this clean-up I can say I have.
This was another new one for me. Not sure exactly what it is. I think it may just be colored powder sometimes throw around at parties. That is the best I can come up with.
This was the majority of the items Leigh Ann and I pulled off of the bank. Most were hidden in the undergrowth, but nearly everything hadn't been there long.
This was one items that was there on my last clean-up in this area. I couldn't remove it by myself, but with Leigh Ann, we were able to pick it up and take it to the parking lot of the park. Ha! Just kidding. Sadly this car is still in the Brodhead.
Leigh Ann picking up a salt bag from the creekside. Salt bags are more common than you would think. I often find them on the river clean-ups.
This Green Heron had been preening, I think it took a break to watch us float by.
This bridge pillar, at least in low water, marks the spot where the Brodhead meets the Delaware. We paddled down river and the hope was to loop around one of the islands and paddle back up the Brodhead. I suggested this and I thought it was a good idea. What I account for was the low water level. We did paddle down and around, but had a long portage back to the Brodhead.
Passed several Great Blue Herons along the riverside. We could hear two Bald Eagles, only spotted one and it was too far off for a photo.
When we got back to the Brodhead we did have more trash and ended up walking instead of paddling upstream. This was a lot of work, still we got the job done.
This was the haul from the paddle. In all for the day we had over five large bags of trash. Hopefully this area will stay clean and it will not see another overload of people like it did last weekend. This was an awesome clean-up, thank you Leigh Ann for suggesting it!
More clean-ups to come in the near future. I will be away for the next couple days, but will be back to taking out the trash early next week!
You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project here: Help Fund Taking Out the Trash
Like this project? Like it on Facebook: Taking Out the Trash in Eastern PA
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