Nearly a TON of trash and
debris was removed from Brookville, PA’s streambanks
during a two-day cleanup in September. Kodel O., a 17 year-old
Boy Scout, organized the event as his
Eagle Project.
Three
miles of streambanks were cleaned
with the help of 30 other scouts and adults. The cleanup was
postponed once due to a hurricane. Flooding that came with it
brought water more than 25-30 feet above its normal level. This
caused challenges for the volunteers,
as it was difficult to walk in the high grass that had been
washed flat and was mud-covered.
Whenever there is heavy rainfall in a watershed
area, it carries lots of debris downstream
with it. And this was no exception! The kids found a
computer, gas pipe line, and full bottles of alcohol.
They even found many items left from an earlier flood in 1996
that washed away many homes in the Brookville area.
The
boys say they learned that it’s very hard to clean up trash
and “they will NOT be throwing things
on the ground!” The scouts understand that in order
for these streambanks to STAY clean, they
need to be adopted. So they’ve been working with
PA CleanWays to adopt these areas and monitor them regularly.
The adopted sections will be marked with
signs recognizing the Boy Scouts.
In addition to rounding up volunteer helpers,
the scouts partnered with The Intercoastal
Cleanup to obtain sturdy bags, a caring townsperson who
paid for the trash disposal, and PA CleanWays who helped get
lunch donated.
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