St. Marys River Clean-up and Celebration

On Saturday, March 28, a record-breaking 197 volunteers gathered at 

Howard Gilman Memorial Park for the annual St. Marys River and Clean-

up. The day before, 53 Navy volunteers arrived to clean up the waterfront

and collected 23 bags of trash, 9 bags of recyclables, pieces of rusty metal 

and other detritus from the marsh and along St. Marys Street. 

From 8:30 am to 12 pm on Saturday, volunteers spread out throughout 

the downtown area and far beyond, retrieving trash from the streets, 

ditches, marsh and river. Mayor Morrissey and all members of City 

Council joined in along with kayakers, boaters, Scout troops, high school 

students, and citizens of all ages. St. Marys EarthKeepers Chair Alex 

Kearns stated “Once again our community showed its spirit and unity. 

Clearly, even though we've made huge strides in reducing litter, there is 

still a great deal of work to be done. It was a wonderful day for all 

involved.”

The final tally: 197 volunteers, 92 33-gallon bags of trash, and 53 33-

gallon bags of recyclables.

The St. Marys EarthKeepers extend their thanks to the media and all who

 shared the event-notice via Facebook etc. and email, Advanced Disposal 

for their invaluable assistance, and, above all, to everyone who 

participated.