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Christina River cleanup celebrates 25th anniversary

Credit: Melissa Bittner of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuar

Hundreds of volunteers will gather this weekend to pick up litter across the Christina River watershed.

Participants can choose among 15 different sites in the watershed, including the Wilmington Riverfront, First State National Park and White Clay Creek State Park.

Jennifer Adkins is the executive director of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary. She says the event is a productive way to educate the public about their local waterways.

“It’s really an opportunity for local residents to get out and make a difference and hopefully enjoy some nice spring weather and in some locations, go out to the water and out to see some wetlands they might not normally see," said Adkins.

 

She added that removing trash helps the wetlands in the watershed maintain water quality, among other functions.

 

“So wetlands are a natural filter, which is a good thing and that’s what they were designed to be in nature. They weren’t really designed to handle trash," said Adkins.

About 75 percent of New Castle County’s drinking water also comes from this watershed.

 
It’s the event’s 25th anniversary. Since 1992, the cleanup has collected more than 360 tons of household appliances, tires and other trash out of the watershed.

DNREC, Christina Conservancy and others organizations also contributed in planning the event. Volunteers are recommended to wear long sleeves, pants, mosquito spray and sunscreen.  

The event runs from 8 a.m. until noon on Saturday April 9. More information is online at Christina-River-Cleanup dot org.