The
two-mile long Little Tinicum Island, designated a natural area,
is heavily littered with tires, trash and countless plastic
and glass drink containers. Debris floating in the Delaware
River has been accumulating on the island for years, carried
by the current and deposited by high water and the ebb and flow
of the tide.
On
May 17, 2003, volunteers met at West End Boat Club and, along
with supplies, were transported to the island by boats donated
and staffed by the Delaware Bay & River Cooperative, Inc.
The group spent the day bagging 4 tons of trash and debris,
1500 pounds of recyclable glass and plastic, and collected
approximately 180 tires, some still on their rims and many
filled with sand. The same boats used to transport volunteers,
also transported the trash and tires collected on the island
to rolloff containers located at the boat club.
The
rain and wind, which pelted the area on Friday, had stopped
by Saturday morning, allowing the river to calm down enough
to safely transport the volunteers. The sky was overcast and
the air temperature was in the mid to upper 50's, with a slight
breeze… perfect weather for the cleanup.
Volunteers
concentrated their cleanup efforts on over ½ nautical
mile of beach on the southeastern end (the shipping channel
side) of the island. The trash extended from the water's edge,
back into the trees and foliage, approximately 150 feet. The
trash was mixed with driftwood, tangled in exposed tree roots,
and hidden by an invasive plant species, Japanese knotweed,
which had grown to an imposing thickness and height.
Working together,
36 volunteers donated 234 hours to the cause. The group included
representatives of Delaware County Community Service, DEP,
DCNR, Delaware County Conservation District, West End Boat
Club, and ACME grocery chain.
Work
stopped around 12:30 pm, when bagged lunches arrived by boat
and the hungry volunteers enjoyed a hearty lunch. Cleanup
work resumed, and the last volunteers were off of the island
by 3:00 pm.
PA CleanWays,
Inc. and DCNR staff organized the cleanup and attribute much
of the success of the day to the support and donations of
the West End Boat Club 
(use
of their facilities, restrooms, and docks), Waste Management
of Delaware Valley-South Transfer Station (waste hauling and
trash disposal), US Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 48, Jim
Brennan, Commander (boat and staff for emergency services),
Tinicum Township (standby ambulance service), and Serratore's
Restaurant, which provided lunch through the West End Boat
Club.
Those
who helped in the planning stages of the project were Fox's
Grove Marina, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, John Heinz Wildlife
Refuge (USFWS), City of Philadelphia Water Department, Morris
Arboretum (Univ. of Penna.), and the Delaware County Conservation
District.
Valley Forge State Forest Cleanup Team
ACME Markets
Delaware County Conservation District
Delaware County Community Service
Fox's Grove Marina
Jim Brennan
John Heinz Wildlife Refuge (USFWS)
Local Volunteers
Pennsylvania Department of
Environmental Protection
Serratore's Restaurant
Tinicum Township
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla
Valley Forge State Forest Employees
Waste Management of Delaware Valley
- South Transfer Station
West End Boat Club
|
The
cleaned segment of the island will serve many purposes, one
being as a benchmark to monitor the rate of trash re-accumulation.
Future cleanups will be planned using information gained during
Saturday's event.
DCNR encourages Delaware County residents with disposal and
recycling questions to contact the Delaware County Recycling
Coordinator at (610) 892-9716.
Valley
Forge State Forest is comprised of 912 acres, spread out over
six separate tracts located in Berks, Bucks, Chester, Lehigh,
Delaware, Lancaster, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties.
The forest is home to four unusual natural areas that are
open to the public. These areas include Goat Hill Serpentine
Barrens, which protects a nationally rare ecosystem of pitch
pine and hardy plants that can endure metal-laden soil formed
from the underlying serpentinite rock, and Little Tinicum
Island, a forested tidal flat in the Delaware River, accessible
only by boat. Also,
included are the David R. Johnson Natural Area and the Ruth
Zimmerman Natural Area.
Learn
about other
illegal dump sites in state forests and parks.
This page last updated June 12, 2003.
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