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I started this idea for a project a couple of years ago, and lately, I’ve seen an increase of ‘jewels’ and in some very unusual places.

Over the years, it has not been uncommon for me to see small pieces of trash along the way, but there are other times…

In the early days, some of my captures were just looking at oddities that I came across.

When the Mark Creek Lake was drained of 8 feet of water in late 2012, I found some more items…

Folding Chair

Traffic Cone

Sometimes, not all is trash!

Bells in the trees

Cans in the trees

It is amazing how some folks will just leave ‘stuff’.

These images were taken just last week on a Sunday walk with my son along the Rim Trail in Hibernia Park [Map].

Drink by the Brandywine

Ice Cream on the rocks

If you can carry it in, you should be able to carry it out!

Here in Chester County PA, we are very lucky to have groups like the Brandywine Valley Association, that organize demonstrations in local grade schools, and several years ago, I even volunteered for a day, when my daughter was in the 4th grade at Uwchlan Hills Elementary School (UHES)!

During the Event, there are several stations with each showing a different phase in how the Water System works  – It rains, the water washes over the roads and lawns, picking up various ‘elements’; flowing into the myriad of streams and creeks then into the Brandywine; the effects on the macro/micro organisms that are used to identify the health of the water; water treatment facilities to drinking water.  Full circle!

In the Fall of 2014, the new Marsh Creek 6th Grade Center (MC6GC) opened here in Downingtown, and one of the first field trips of the new school years, was to Paradise Farm Camps.

During the course of the day, each group of kids was introduced to new skills such as rope courses, teamwork building, collecting live samples and orienteering. By the end of the day my Fitbit had logged just over 9 miles walking!

What was very wonderful to see, that the same skills that were introduced during the Red stream Blue stream at UHES, were now being reconnected ‘in the field’ while the children were tasked to search for various specimens in the pond and stream that are part of Paradise Farm Camps.

But alas, even they had succumbed to the intrusion of the modern vehicle…

Tire in Valley Creek 327

Tire in Valley Creek 340

Earlier this year, in April, I volunteered again to help the MC6GS Science classes in their first (hopefully continuing) measurement of Shamona Creek.

During each session, the students would record the creek’s temperatures, ph/acidity, velocity, volume and the various macro/micro creatures found in the waterway.

At the beginning of the day, as we approached the testing locations, I noticed a car battery, on the bank of the creek, about 4 feet from the water’s edge.

Some of the cosmetic case had been cracked, and there was no way to tell how long it had been there. I picked it up and moved it closer to the road.

During the rest of the day, the car battery sat there, as a reminder to all what some folks are doing to the environment.

At the end of the day, we took it back to the school for disposal.

Other times, I seem to find items, that have just been swept away…

Blue barrel

Rug in tree

Black Bucket

Then there are days, you still have to scratch your head!

Knowing the area, it is very difficult to imagine how this plastic doll head got to this spot!

I did get a nice little note from the Stroud Preserve –

“Oh dear! I’ll let our preserve manager know there’s litter out there!”

“As for the dry “ponds,” a few years back we restored the stream running through Stroud by removing the dams, which allowed land to convert from ponds (man-made and not good for water quality) to wetlands (more diverse than coral reefs and wonderful for filtering water).” – Stroud Preserve

Controversy

I have recently been reading several articles about the new Wyoming law that now

makes it a crime to “collect resource data”… including taking a “photograph”… – Slate.com

But as the article goes on to say, the law is unconstitutional.

Here is a list of additional Links –

• Forbidden Data – Wyoming just criminalized citizen science
• In Wyoming, Taking A Photo Of A Polluted Stream Could Land You In Jail
• Wyoming Won’t Have You Going Around Taking Pictures Of Their Cow Sh*t Infested E. Coli Rivers

Needless to say, I have been a little anxious about Posting this…

Anyhow…

I hope to encourage you, when out walking about in Nature –

1. Do Not Litter!
2. If you see something, Pick It Up!
3. Try to leave a place better than you found it!

If you have any Thoughts or Comments, please let me know!

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