Make the Chesapeake Bay Great Again

Special to the Mirror by Andy Teeling

Dawn cracked like a whip. Around the Morley’s Wharf shoreline near Exmore, stooped 24community volunteers picking up trash and debris. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation sponsored the 29th annual Save The Bay Day, hosted at Morley’s Wharf on Occohannock Creek by Eastern Shorekeeper in partnership with the Eastern Shore Land Trust, who supplied trash bags, gloves and disposed of all the refuse. The J. C. Walker Seafood Co. of Willis Wharf, supplied a boat and crew to glean trash from the water’s edge.

Many of our region’s citizens answered the call to remove thousands of pounds of debris from our shorelines up and down our part of the Eastern Shore. “A clean healthy shoreline promotes our regions tourist economy” said Exmore Town Manager and Northampton County Supervisor Robert Duer. “Keeping our boat ramps clean saves tax dollars spent on maintenance costs and helps promote a strong seafood industry” Duer added.

“We cleaned up a mile and a half of shoreline and picked up 600 lbs. of litter and debris, including 4 Virginia Pilot mailboxes and a cash register.” Said Hali Plourd Rogers of the Land Trust. Statewide an estimated 6000 volunteers at 250 sites across Virginia removed approximately 100,000 pounds of litter along 450 miles of shoreline. “When we all do our part, we make a huge difference together” she added.

Participants in the clean up want to remind all who use and live near the water to be extra mindful of helping make our Chesapeake Bay great again. Set a good example for the next generation of water users! Young people are watching how we treat this wonderful resource, let us not disappoint them. Bring an extra trash bag with you anytime you are on the water and pick up debris/litter. Our young people and the Chesapeake Bay will thank us.

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Wayne Creed

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