Williamsport, PA – This Sunday, April 25, volunteers in Williamsport wrapped up Earth Week by picking up 577 pounds of trash from along the Susquehanna River Walk in just a few hours.
The event was organized by the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership (SGP) who were joined by 34 volunteers from the area, as well as a group from the West Branch Valley Association of Realtors.
“This is now our 3rd annual cleanup in the city of Williamsport,” explains SGP Executive Director, Corey Ellison. “Each year we organize the cleanup during Earth Week (the week of Earth Day) to join the statewide effort of Pick Up PA run by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, which is a great resource for organizations planning cleanups.”
SGP was able to acquire free gloves, trash bags, and safety vests through the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful initiative, which offers registered participants free resources provided by support from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, PennDOT, and Keep America Beautiful.
Throughout the day, volunteers collected items such as discarded blankets, abandoned camping tents, several t-shirts, two neckties, a twisted child’s sandbox, a rusted shopping cart, and even the broken bow of a canoe, among the typical bottles, wrappers, and cans.
Despite the odd assortment of litter, one comment was heard again and again from volunteers along the River Walk, “It’s not as bad as I expected.”
It just goes to show that our communities are doing a better job of keeping our parks, trails, and public spaces cleaner for all to enjoy.
The Susquehanna Greenway Partnership would like to thank all of the volunteers who came out to help and to the citizens of Williamsport for keeping their River Walk cleaner!
As a designated Susquehanna Greenway River Town, Williamsport has made a commitment to celebrate and connect to the resources of the Susquehanna River. Collecting litter along the riverside serves to uphold this promise and promotes a better quality of life for people living in and visiting the city.
Thanks to the hard work of everyone involved, residents and visitors alike can feel pride in crossing the mighty Susquehanna into a city full of educational and cultural offerings, businesses, restaurants, and entertainment.
The Susquehanna Greenway is a corridor of connected trails, parks, river access points, and communities, linking people to the natural and cultural treasures of the Susquehanna River. The mission of the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership is to continue to grow the Greenway by building connections along the Susquehanna River, inspiring people to engage with the outdoors, and transforming communities into places where people want to live, work, and explore. Learn more at susquehannagreenway.org.