Early on the morning of March 29, nearly 600 volunteers assembled to help with the Annual Red Clay Valley Clean Up.  

At 8 a.m., volunteers lined up at the Ashland Nature Center in Delaware, Kennett Square’s Anson B. Nixon Park and the Kennett YMCA Outdoor Pool to receive clean-up supplies, route assignments and Starbucks coffee before moving out to their clean-up sections.

Despite inclement weather, in four hours, the volunteers collected more than nine tons of trash, including 67 tires.

Jim Jordan, chairman of the Red Clay Valley Clean Up, said, “The huge volunteer turnout enabled us to expand and cover all of the designated clean-up routes.”  Many school groups participated, including Brandywine Springs School, Charter School of Wilmington, A.I. duPont High School, Henry C. Conrad High School, P.S. duPont Middle School, and the University of Delaware, as well as BSA Troop 70, Cub Scouts Pack 959, Future Farmers of America and St. Michael’s Church.

The Annual Red Clay Valley Clean Up was organized by the Red Clay Valley Association and the Delaware Nature Society and covered 76 miles of streams and roadways in Delaware and Pennsylvania.  Additional sponsors included the Kennett Area Park Authority, Starbucks Coffee Company, Wild Birds Unlimited, WSFS, Wawa, Mt Cuba Center, Chandler Funeral Homes, Exelon Generation, United Water of Delaware, Delaware State Senator Greg Lavelle, Phillips Mushroom Farms and Constellation.