“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” ~Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Eighty-seven volunteers answered that question this year at Bristol Marsh Nature Preserve in honor of our annual MLK Day of Service. On Monday, January 20th, under a shining sun, compassionate community members joined Heritage Conservancy for a day of trash removal from Bristol Marsh. Our volunteers came from across Bucks County, Philadelphia, and New Jersey, including three DOW volunteers, five students from the Bristol High School Interact Club, one volunteer from Bucks County Community College, nine Junior Girl Scouts from Troop 249 in Doylestown, and 10 families of multiple generations!

The volunteers were hard at work, removing over 70 bags of trash and miscellaneous scrap metal from the marsh, as well as scrap lumber, buckets, and an empty 50-gallon drum that was taken home by a volunteer for re-use. This removal of trash will help to protect our water quality since the Bristol Marsh filters into the Delaware River, which provides drinking water to over 15 million people. Our volunteers were also treated to donuts and other breakfast snacks, plus coffees provided by Calm Waters Café in downtown Bristol Borough.

We want to give a big thank you to Molly Anderson from The Nature Conservancy and Katie Martens and Gabie Lent from the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for their assistance for this event. We extend our gratitude to all of the volunteers who helped make this a special day of service.