The Alliance kicked off our 21st Project Clean Stream season this past weekend! Collectively, we gathered over 1200 pounds of trash throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Join me in celebrating the four community events we hosted.

Richmond, VA

As new construction has brought more people to the Manchester neighborhood where the Richmond Alliance office is located, so has increased street litter. This spring, our Virginia team is lucky enough to partner with two local community groups, Manchester Manifest and Manchester Alliance, to do a series of trash cleanups in Manchester and neighboring Blackwell neighborhoods. Together, we can make a big impact to prevent trash from reaching the James River. Our 35 volunteers did an amazing job collecting over 855 pounds of trash, including some real oddities, like hiking boots, headrests, and even raw chicken still in its packaging.

The Richmond Project Clean Stream cleanup crew and the 57 bags of trash collected.

A welcome from site captain Jenny McGarvey.

Two Richmond volunteers pull trash out of entangled tree roots.

Strange trash: a car headrest and a bag of meat!

Washington D.C.

The DC team partnered with DC Greens, The Green Scheme, and Nature Forward for a trash cleanup that started at the Well at Oxon Run, an innovative community garden and wellness site and extended along the banks of Oxon Run Stream. Since Oxon Run is in such a highly urbanized area of Washington, DC, volunteers were particularly excited to put on boots and get into the water themselves, collecting trash along the way. We had 15 volunteers collect 180 pounds of trash.

The Washington, DC, cleanup crew is picking up trash at Well at Oxon Run, an innovative community garden and wellness site.

Strange trash: a mud-covered Lime scooter.

A group photo of the Washington, DC, cleanup crew.

Annapolis, MD

20 community members, including one local business, joined us at the Annapolis, MD, Project Clean Stream kick-off event! The team split into two cleanup groups and headed in different directions to maximize the amount of trash collected. As for weird items, one volunteer found a smattering of chicken eggs! Together, we gathered 240 pounds of trash.

A group photo of the Annapolis, MD, cleanup crew.

Three volunteers gathered trash in downtown Annapolis.

Strange trash: abandoned chicken eggs!

Lancaster, PA

In Lancaster, PA, we had 10 volunteers working on a section of the Little Conestoga Creek near the Alliance’s Flory Mill office. We collected over 450 pounds, including long landscaping spikes, a tent, and a jeep door. April 1st was also the first day of trout season, and our volunteers connected with the fishermen up and down the river, sharing information about Project Clean Stream and cheering them on whenever they caught a fish.

Pennsylvania volunteers certainly got their hands dirty during the kickoff.

Strange trash: A jeep door.

Our triumphant volunteers celebrating a successful kickoff!