Essex, Middle River Residents Take Time to Volunteer

April is Volunteer Appreciation Month, and there is no shortage of opportunities for those living in the Essex-Middle River area, especially with Earth Day coming on April 22.

Kudos to all the fabulous volunteers who do so much for so many!

The month kicked off in a big way on April 2 as volunteers gathered at Walnut Point, off South Marlyn Avenue, for the season’s first Back River Restoration Committee environmental cleanup. Jim Pollock, Hampden’s “Trash Artist,” joined the volunteers.

Pollock also brought along a teacher, a college professor and art students who learned how to turn trash into art. Tires, trash and tree debris were removed from the water and shoreline, along with things like lamps and bed springs.  Mountains of garbage were gathered by the energetic, hardworking volunteers.

At the same time, Hawthorne residents were joined by volunteers from Lockheed Martin, Terra Tech, Armstrong and Associates, and the Maryland Free State Academy. By joining forces, the 67 volunteers removed 2,000 pounds of trash from their neighborhood. The group welcomed a visitor from Florida and another from California. Thanks to one and all.

Other cleanup groups are quite active:

• Our neighbors in the Chesaco Park Community held their cleanup of the Red House Run.
• To the south, volunteers cleaned the Bread and Cheese Creek in Dundalk.

• On Saturday, more environmentally conscious volunteers joined the Bowleys Quarters Community as they continue their efforts to improve the cleanliness of Galloway Creek.
• On Sunday, Patapsco Valley and Heritage Greenway Inc. met at the end of Hollins Ferry Road just beyond Halethorpe Farms Road to continue their efforts to improve the Patapsco River Community.

Unfortunately in most cases, the trash, garbage and debris were mountainous.  The high number of broken trees are a legacy of the severe winter, especially the 10-inch snowfall whose weight broke whole trees as well as large limbs. 

Special thanks to the local contractors who donated their time and equipment to remove these extremely large, heavy dangers to ensure the safety of our summer boaters.

For students needing service learning hours, watch for announcements of the continuing cleanup efforts that are scheduled by these and other local communities. Bring your Baltimore County Service Learning Hour forms to the event to have them signed.

Attention local businesses:  Your help is needed. Will your employees volunteer to help clean up local communities? Will you challenge other businesses to match your efforts? Are you willing to donate items needed to accomplish the tasks? 

Items needed: rakes, shovels, gloves, boots, Bobcats and other heavy-duty front-end loaders. Donations of bottled water are also greatly appreciated, as well as hot dogs, hamburgers, condiments and rolls to feed the army of volunteers, some who put in six hours of labor.

A big thanks goes to Hawks Pleasure Club for donating the grill to the Back River Restoration Committee cleanup.

Remember, April is Volunteer Appreciation Month. Take some time. Make an effort to do a little volunteering. It will be greatly appreciated by the many that reap the benefits of these efforts. And, you can pat yourself on the back for doing something extremely worthwhile. 

Thank you in advance.