Boyd, Cv Host Earth Day Cleanup

By James Buescher

BY JAMES BUESCHER

Correspondent

As a way of observing Earth Day, as well as to bring attention to area environmental issues, state Rep. Scott Boyd, in conjunction with students at Conestoga Valley High School, on Friday will perform a cleanup of the Conestoga River in West Earl Township.

Boyd and the students will be joined by state Sen. Mike Brubaker and Kathleen A. McGinty, secretary of the state’s Dept. of Environmental Protection, in pulling toys, tires and other dumped trash out of the Susquehanna River tributary.

This is something we’ve been doing for the last five years, and it’s amazing some of the things we’ve pulled out of the streams around here, Boyd said Tuesday. Doing this … is a great way to help young people understand what it means to be stewards of the environment.

We actually get dirty, he said. All of us go in there and pull the stuff out of the stream. In some ways, this is one of the best aspects of my job.

It’s a lot more fun than getting legislation passed, sometimes.

Kerrie Snavely, who teaches biology at Conestoga Valley, said the best thing about having elected representatives come and help with the Earth Day cleanup is that it shows young people that environmental issues are also political issues.

The river is not a place to dump, Snavely said Tuesday. Each time we do a cleanup we wind up carting away three or four dump trucks full of stuff -mostly old car tires, though we’ve also pulled out balls, bikes and, once, even an old picnic table.

For Snavely, the debris in the state’s waterways can’t all just be the result of flooding.

People are going down to our waterways and tossing in stuff that they don’t want, and that’s wrong, she said. So, part of the reason why we’re doing the cleanup is that … we want to give our students an eye-opener.

Snavely and her students have spent almost 15 years acting as protectors for nearby Stauffer Run. They monitor nitrate levels and bacteria as part of class projects, measure water temperatures and search for specific species that help give clues as to the ongoing ecological health of the stream.

For Snavely, the cleanup efforts at Stauffer Run and Conestoga River sites not only help instruct young people on environmental issues, but also generate publicity to help educate the general public.

When it comes to local cleanup efforts like these, we’re tackling things a piece at a time, Snavely said. It’s working, but there’s still such a long, long way to go. I’m so glad that folks are stepping up to help us tackle these issues.

We’re helping everyone learn how to care for the environment, and not take it for granted.

The cleanup will take place starting at 11:30 a.m. Friday at West Earl Township Community Park, off Route 772 and State Street in Brownstown.

For more information, contact Snavely at 397-5231.

Originally published by James Buescher, Correspondent.

(c) 2008 Intelligencer Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.