On September 19, 2009 at Wall Park in Cheltenham Township, over 40 residents participated in a stream cleanup event that removed over 1,400 pounds of trash from the Tookany Creek and its banks. The event was a cooperative, volunteer effort by citizens from across the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford watershed. TTF hosted the event as part of International Coastal Cleanup Day, a worldwide, annual project led by Ocean Conservancy. Local organizations, including the Cheltenham Environmental Advisory Council (EAC), the Arcadia University Environmental Network, Cedarbrook Middle School, and TTF came together to make the day a success. PA CleanWays provided tools and supplies for the volunteers.
The substantial effort we made here on Saturday morning was part of an even larger, global effort. International Coastal Cleanup Day is the brainchild of the Ocean Conservancy, an environmental ocean advocacy group dedicated to the health of the earth’s waterways. By sponsoring organizations on every continent to host local waterway clean-up events, the Ocean Conservancy shares credit for removing over 100 million pounds of marine litter from of 170,000 miles of beaches and inland waterways over the last 20 years. Last year, nearly 400,000 volunteers collected more than 6.8 million pounds of trash in 100 countries and 42 US states – the largest volunteer effort of its kind!
1,400 pounds of trash were removed from the Tookany Creek and its banks at Wall Park
