12th Annual May River Cleanup & Earth Day Celebration Photos

Thank you again to our partners and volunteers who participated in this year's cleanup and Earth Day celebration. For more pictures, please be sure to visit Bluffton Today's "Spotted" gallery.

I wanted to send a HUGE “Thank You!” to ALL of our partners and volunteers who helped to make last Saturday’s 12th Annual May River Cleanup & Earth Day Celebration so successful! Give yourselves a huge round of applause!!

We had 180 participants sign in which means that we EASILY had over 200 participants picking up litter from the river, her shores and surrounding streets. Our local dignitaries including Representative Bill Herbkersman, County Council Chairman Weston Newton, Mayor Pro Tempore Oliver Brown, Councilman Ted Huffman and Blue Ribbon Committee on Shoreline Management Chair Wes Jones joined forces with Town of Bluffton Staff, Boy Scout Pack 212, Susan Dee’s McCracken Middle School students, the Alljoy Buzzard Brigade and so many others to make this the largest turn-out we’ve ever had! I am SO grateful for each and every one of you!! Together, you all helped to remove 1.56 tons of trash from our community in just 3 short hours! Now that’s some dedicated, hard work. Look for some of the pieces to be used by artist Terry Brennan in a World Oceans Day public art sculpture in June!

I hope that each of you had the opportunity to enjoy our great BBQ lunch with live entertainment while visiting the exhibits in the environmental education fair and placing goodies into your reusable tote. I hope to see these all over Bluffton! Thank you to all of our partners for helping to make this event so successful – Town of Bluffton’s Neighbors for Clean Water, Beaufort County, Waste Management, Keep Beaufort County Beautiful, Beaufort County Stormwater Utility, Beaufort County Recycles, Palmetto Pride, Outside Hilton Head, Marshgrass Adventures, Island Crossing Starbucks, USCB – Gateway Campus, Beaufort Conservation District, LowCountry Master Naturalist, The LowCountry Institute, Clemson Extension, Lowcountry Master Gardener Association, Bear Island Farm, LowCountry Rain Barrel, Port Royal Sound Foundation, Friends of Bluffton Dog Parks, Bluffton BBQ and Bluffton Custom Images.

If you’ve not seen the article in the Island Packet, please follow this link. I particularly appreciate the first comment at the bottom and think it’s a great kudos to all our fantastic partners! http://www.islandpacket.com/2012/04/21/2044692/truckload-of-garbage-pulled-from.html#storylink=misearch

And, while I can’t attach all the photos that were taken that day, please visit Bluffton Today’s gallery: http://spotted.blufftontoday.com/galleries/index.php?event=5323 to visit the 2 galleries created by Jessica Sparks. There are some GREAT shots in each gallery.

So, once again, thank you to each and every one of you, and I can’t wait to see you all again next year!!
Kim Jones, Water Quality Program Manager, Town of Bluffton

12th ANNUAL MAY RIVER CLEANUP & EARTH DAY CELEBRATION

The 12th Annual May River Cleanup & Earth Day Celebration is scheduled for next Saturday, April 21st from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the Oyster Factory Park at the end of Wharf St. in historic Old Town Bluffton.

Thanks to our partners, morning coffee and snacks will be provided as volunteers pick up their supplies and get their directions for the day. A limited number of kayaks will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis for volunteers to pull trash from the marsh and pass it off to boaters to bring back to the Oyster Factory for disposal. All boaters are asked to come early to pick up supplies and get their boats in the water by 8:30 AM. Volunteers on land will be needed to prevent trash from the parks and streets from Old Town Bluffton to Alljoy Landing from entering the river. The goal is to have over 200 volunteers on land and water participating in this community effort!

As volunteers return to the Oyster Factory Park at noon for a BBQ lunch and music, an environmental education fair will be underway. Our environmental partners will be giving us tips on how we can make better choices around our homes and workplaces to protect our fragile, coastal environment for our families and future generations. You will also have a unique opportunity to learn about the fascinating research that is being conducted in our area by students at the University of South Carolina – Beaufort Gateway Campus. These students will not only be on hand to talk both about their research but also their experiences attending our local university.

For more information please contact Kim Jones with the Town of Bluffton at 843-706-4593 or at kjones@townofbluffton.com.