The USDA Forest Service and PalmettoPride are teaming up once again for the annual Francis Marion National Forest cleanup.
On February 2, volunteers are wanted to help clean up illegal dumpsites spread throughout the forest’s 260,000 acres. This is a great event for families, service learning clubs, outdoor enthusiasts and school groups.
The annual volunteer cleanups are making a significant impact on the environmental landscape in the Francis Marion National Forest. Litter and illegal dumpsites have decreased annually since the one-day cleanup events began. More volunteers participate each year and the amounts of litter being collected decrease with each cleanup.
More than 1,200 volunteers have removed 133+ tons of trash and debris from the forest lands in Charleston and Berkeley Counties since the first cleanup in 2003. The event’s early years focused on lands near the Sewee Environmental Education Center in Charleston and Berkeley Counties. With the opening of the new USDA Forest Service office in fall 2011, Forest Service representatives moved the event location to be more centrally located in the forest allowing volunteers to cover a wider area.
Volunteers are to meet at 8 a.m. at the US Forest Service Office, 2967 Steed Creek Road, Huger, SC. After receiving safety training and cleanup supplies, volunteers will be assigned an area to cleanup. Lunch will be served at noon to all volunteers. Volunteers are encouraged to wear sturdy shoes, long pants and long sleeve shirts.
- For more information or to volunteer for the cleanup, please contact Gene Campbell, Program Manager at PalmettoPride, (877) 725-7733 or ecampbell@palmettopride.org.
