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
