by Drew Koslow
Sixteen eighth graders and four teachers from The Summit School in Edgewater participated in a stream cleanup on the headwaters of Duvall Creek. Conditions were a lot tougher than usual for the volunteers because all of the vegetation was grown out (briars, poison ivy, etc.). Nonetheless, volunteers were enthusiastic and were quickly scouring the woods to see who could find the most bizarre item. We had the usual discarded propane tanks, common automobile tires, a less common truck tire; then things started to get interesting.
A couple of excited yelps came from down in the woods and then a couple of boys came up dragging a 12’ piece of a rolling conveyor belt. They thought they had the winner for sure. A couple of old bicycles followed, pretty cool, but not the top-dawg. A large spool that once held wire or phone line came out to some oohs and ahs but the consensus was that the conveyor was still tops…Until, a safe came out of the woods being carried by a couple of strong lads. Unfortunately the only bounty in it was some old decaying leaves, but it was a clear winner.
Other entries in the cleanup were a weed-wacker, old fashioned gas cans, an antique wooden fish-box that will decorate my new house!, a lovely rug, a lounge chair (slightly decrepit), an old door, an acetylene tank (seen one before), a refrigerator, and some shelving rounded out the days haul.
Special thanks to Elaine Levit for coordinating and to the other teachers, Ashley Reyher, Brendan Sheehan and Chris Golden. A hearty thanks goes out to the students; Rick Colby, Robert McQuillan, Natalie Dennin, Kelly Dupont, Emily Campion, Colleen Chiaramonte, Andrew Paretz, Eric Van Scoyec, Jamal Jackson, Joey Casey, Bryan Williams, Andrew Ahrnsbrak, Nick Starulakis, Taylor Holmes, Ally Donahue and Riley Mishou!
