Another installment in Caledon Natural Area’s Volunteer Bob as he works to keep the shoreline clean
The weather has turned nice again and I have been back working to clean up the shore line at Caledon Natural Area on the Potomac River. The tides and winter storms have left a large collection of trash along the shore line. My job is secure for another season!
Last year it became my practice to count the number of balls I found as I picked up, bagged, and hauled out trash. I have resumed the same activity this year. This week I worked about six hours on shore line cleanup and the associated activity of picking up and counting balls found.
What a haul! Today alone I found 164 balls. The total balls found this week number 200, or a rate of 33.3 balls per hour when averaged over the time I worked. The vast majority of these are tennis balls, but other types are also found in the mix. Today there was a regulation basket ball, golf balls, base balls, soft balls, sponge balls, and wiffle balls.
It turns out that this collection of balls, and the rate both exceed anything achieved during the 2009 trash removal season. Although I get distracted by the number of balls found, I also removed five large bags of assorted trash and on automobile tire mounted on a wheel. Things are looking up for another great season on the river shore.