Spring Cleanup
April 21, 2012

Northwest Branch at W. Hyattsville Metro Station

Eric Rogner and Elliot Rule took this site on again and were very pleased to find that the section they had thoroughly cleaned up last fall was still pretty trash free! So the team of 18 volunteers was able to split up and clean areas both up and downstream. They found no tires, but one entire bicycle with wheels and tires, the obligatory shopping cart, lots of beer cans, and hundreds of plastic bags festooned in the trees and caught in snags along the banks. They filled 44 bags, 6 of them with recyclables, and left about 30 pounds of bulk items for pick-up.

Thanks to all participants, pictured and not pictured! You have again beautified this section of the Northwest Branch and just maybe the next cleanup will find even less trash to remove!

What IS that slimy thing Elliot has found in the stream?

(Photo by Eric Rogner)

This is better: a shark tracker boat! Who knew that Lilliputians were navigating the Northwest Branch? Was anyone on board, Elliot?

(Photo by Eric Rogner)

Eric found these little people use helicopters as well!

(Photo by Elliot Rule)

Here's hoping that pennants of plastic in the trees will be a plague of the past when finally Prince Georges County follows Montgomery County and the District of Columbia in imposing a carryout bag fee.

(Photo by Eric Rogner)

The collection of bags is crowned with a bicycle.

(Photo by Eric Rogner)

Andy Vaskys balances a bottle on Anna Nhan's head,
proving once again that cleaning up can be fun.

(Photo by Eric Rogner)

The workers of this group strike a triumphant pose. l-r: Tom Berry, Randy Chicca, Elliot Rule, Michette Robles, Anna Nhan, and Christy Morris-Berry.
Many of the 18 volunteers at this site, however, are not pictured.

(Photo by Eric Rogner)

Postscript: What story might this single pink boot tell? Was it once beloved, but then discarded? What became of its mate?
We'll never know, but it too was consigned to oblivion in a trash bag ...

(Photo by Lea)