During the Green Towson Alliance’s (GTA) stream cleanup month in April, volunteers cleaned up and removed 5,605 pounds of trash from local streams in Towson neighborhoods. Everything from styrofoam, plastic, glass and metal, thrown into the streams or blown in from nearby streets and alleys, was picked up by 260 volunteers. The streams can carry trash for miles, through Towson’s neighborhoods and down to the Harbor on the way to the Chesapeake Bay.
In the last four years, GTA volunteers have cleared out 14,000 pounds of trash and debris from local streams. This was GTA’s 4th annual stream cleanup, held in partnership with the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay. The streams included branches of the Herring Run and the Jones Falls/Lake Roland tributaries from Towson Run and from Roland Run.
260 volunteers participated in GTA’s 12 stream cleanups, including Towson University students, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, local school students, adults from surrounding neighborhoods and volunteer members of GTA. State Delegate Steve Lafferty and County Councilman David Marks assisted at the Radebaugh Neighborhood Park cleanup site, and County Executive Johnny Olszewski presented GTA with a citation of appreciation for cleaning up local streams in the county for the last four years and improving the environment of Baltimore County communities.
Trash bags and gloves for the cleanup were donated by Mom’s Organic Market and many local businesses allowed the full trash bags to be left in their dumpsters.
Green Towson Alliance, a non-profit collaborative coalition of local Towson area environmental volunteers, works to make Towson neighborhoods healthy and green by planting trees, cleaning up streams, and removing vines that strangle trees as it works towards its goal to encourage green open space in Towson’s communities.