Through its Preserves and Conservation Easements, OLC protects nearly 2 miles of Valley Creek - a state-designated “Exceptional Value” stream. The creek is home to beavers, mink and naturally-reproducing brown trout, along with the herons, kingfishers and fishermen and women that enjoy them. Three quarters of a mile of the stream flows through the aptly named Valley Creek Preserve.
The flood plain in Valley Creek Preserve also serves as a component of Tredyffrin’s stormwater management system. Stormwater runoff from intense storms overflows from the creek into the floodplain where it can spread out and slow down, limiting erosion and damage downstream. Unfortunately those floods also pick up and deposit all kinds of trash from upstream – and that’s where Cub Pack 81 came to the rescue!
Cub Pack 81 helps clean up Valley Creek Preserve, March 2020
Conservancy member and Cubmaster Mark Saylor took the initiative to organize a trash clean up day on March 7th. A dozen cub scouts and their parents came out on a brisk but sunny Saturday morning, and over two hours scoured the Preserve from south to north. The scouts made a terrific team; they were enthusiastic, energetic and enterprising, reaching into the creek and delving into brush piles.
The photos above show the team with their haul, along with parents and Preserve Manager and OLC VP Ray Clarke. About eight full trash bags (lots of plastic, especially Styrofoam), two buckets (one collected from the Preserve), two tires (one with wheel included), and favorite finds including a mug, fishing tackle box, and a football!
The Conservancy is grateful to Mark and fellow leaders Dan Greenwood and Brad Osborne for organizing the event and particularly of course to all the cub scouts and their families who came out to keep our precious resource as pristine as possible so that all can enjoy it.
Cub Scout Pack 81 is chartered by St. Matthew’s UMC of Valley Forge in Wayne. Pack 81 serves boys and girls, kindergarten to fifth grade, primarily drawing membership from Valley Forge and New Eagle elementary schools. With nearly 90 registered scouts, the Pack is among the largest and most active in the Chester County Council.