FORT BELVOIR, Va.-- In an effort to have the Potomac River trash- free by 2013, volunA,Ateers from throughout the Fort Belvoir community participated in the 21st annual Potomac River Watershed Cleanup Saturday morning.
About 100 volunteers particiA,Apated Saturday and were disA,Apatched to various spots along the Belvoir shoreline.
Volunteers from the Society for American Military Engineers; Belvoir Bowhunters; Belvoir Waterfowl hunters; the Directorate of Morale, Welfare and Recreation; Boy Scout Troop 888; Brownie Troop 1899 and the Belvoir Environmental and Natural Resources office were sent out to the Dogue Creek Marina, Tompkins Basin, and the Accotink Bay to collect the trash.
Through the support of the Alice Ferguson Foundation, the volunteers were able to remove 54 tires, 50 trash bags, 100 recycling bags and about 1,000 pounds of unbagged trash and debris from the east shoreline of the Accotink Bay.
AFF provided garbage bags, gloves and other necessary items for the volunteers.
According to its Web site, the AFF was established in 1954 as a non- profit organization chartered in the state of Maryland.
Its goal is to provide experiA,Aences that encourage connections between people, the natural enviA,Aronment, farming and the cultural heritage of the Potomac River Watershed, which lead to personal environmental responsibility.
Fort Belvoir Wildlife Biologist Kevin Walter was in charge of the cleanup and reflected on the gains the event establishes.
'The environment benefits from the removal of contaminants, deA,Abris that harm fish and wildlife, and makes the Fort Belvoir shoreA,Aline aesthetically pleasing to the eye and enjoyable for all,' Walter said. ' It also allows for the public and installation residents to parA,Aticipate in eco- friendly events.' Walter was happy with the outA,Acome and the effectiveness of the cleanup over the years.
' This cleanup means over 13 million pounds of trash has been removed from the Potomac Watershed since its inception 21 years ago,' Walter said. 'We are hoping to continue this effort by having two or three of these cleanups a year.
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