VMNH partnering with local organizations ...

VMNH partnering with local organizations, volunteers for September 17 park cleanup ---- Every September and October, volunteers across Virginia from the mountains to the oceans gather along the shorelines of rivers, lakes, ponds and bays to pick up trash as part of the Virginia Waterways Cleanup Day and the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup. On September 17 from 10 a.m. to noon, Virginia Museum of Natural History staff members will partner with local organizations and volunteers for a J. Frank Wilson Memorial Park Cleanup and greening event.

This year, VMNH is partnering with the Southwestern Piedmont chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists, the Uptown and Martinsville Rotary Clubs, Friends of Wilson Park, and the Interact Club at Bassett High School to remove trash and debris from Wilson Park.

"The parks and green spaces in our neighborhoods are a wonderful asset to our community, and in a way, they are an extension of our own yards that we all share," said Robin Jensen, youth education coordinator at VMNH. "We take walks through the woods, our children play together on the playgrounds, and we enjoy picnics under the trees. During a community cleanup, we can all join together to help pick up unsightly trash and keep the water clean. If we do this, it will be a more beautiful and welcoming place for everyone to enjoy."

In 2010, the Southwest Piedmont Virginia Master Naturalist Chapter and the Virginia Museum of Natural History received a $1,000 grant from Keep Virginia Beautiful to restore, beautify and create a stewardship project in Martinsville City's 30 acre Wilson Park. This grant provides support for materials and supplies used during cleanup events. The overall goals of the Keep Virginia Beautiful program include invasive species removal and control; implementing riparian restoration and natural and structural erosion control measures; and nature trail enhancements and maintenance with identification and preservation of native flora.

"The Keep Virginia Beautiful grant award strengthens our commitment to the preservation and maintenance of J. Frank Wilson Park," said Glenda Hairston, out-of-school education coordinator at VMNH. "In addition to providing financial assistance, the Keep Virginia Beautiful organization serves as a statewide resource that allows members to post upcoming events, share successes, and interact with other groups who share our desire to protect our natural resources."

Clean Virginia Waterways is an award-winning, statewide, nonprofit organization dedicated to citizen stewardship of Virginia's water resources. For 17 years, Clean Virginia Waterways, affiliated with Longwood University, has coordinated the overall annual Virginia Waterways Cleanup. The statewide cleanup event is part of the Ocean Conservancy's annual International Coastal Cleanup.

Over the past 25 years, Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup has become the world's largest volunteer effort for ocean health. Nearly nine million volunteers from 152 countries and locations have cleaned 145 million pounds of trash from the shores of lakes, streams, rivers, and the ocean on just one day each year.

"This is a great project and a great partnership between community service organizations," said Dr. Denny Casey, director of education and public programs at VMNH. "Everyone benefits from this kind of initiative and I'm excited about this project and the positive impact it will have on the park and our community."

To volunteer for the Wilson Park Cleanup on September 17, call 276-634-4185 or email discover@vmnh.virginia.gov. For more information, visit www.vmnh.net.

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