Kent County hosts Earthday along the St. Jones River

(DOVER, DE.) - - Kent County Levy Court Parks Division staff and approximately 90 volunteers and support personal from Dover Air Force Base, Capital Park Civic Association, in cooperation with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control - Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve, St. Jones Greenway, AmeriCorps - National Civilian Community Corps, a Local Church, University of Delaware, Delaware Solid Waste Authority, Girls and Boys Scouts, Delaware State Police Troop 3, Kent County EMS and other environmentally concerned citizens of Kent County participated in the Kent County Levy Court, Department of Community Service, Division of Parks  -  2004 Earthday Project.

By resolution of the Levy Court, Kent County owns a narrow riparian six-acre parcel of hardwood forest along a 1,500 shoreline of the St. Jones River immediately downstream of the Puncheon Run SR I bridge connector for preservation of the St. Jones River Greenway Corridor.   The site is dominated by mature White Oak, Northern Red Oak, Black Gum, American Beech, Ironwood, and Tulip Poplar.  

Eight dump truck loads of discarded items ranging from tires to shopping carts were removed and disposed of at the Delaware Solid Waste Authority Landfill.   Recyclable concrete, steel, appliances, and tires were disposed at authorized recyclers for re-manufacture.    Other miscellaneous inorganic debris and trash filled  two 30 cubic yard dumpsters and disposed at the DSWA Landfill.

Additionally, volunteers planted, mulched and staked twelve (12) Pin Oaks, Northern Red Oaks, and Sweetbay Magnolias in an area along the shoreline that had been cleared of vegetation.

The cost of the event were provided by the Kent County Levy Court, The St. Jones National Estuarine Research Reserve, and the Delaware Solid Waste Authority through the Community Clean-Up Initiative Program funds authorized by Representative Donna Stone and Gerald Buckworth.

This 6-acre parcel lay within a mosaic of State, County, and private properties identified in the St. Jones River Greenway Master Plan as the "Isaac Segment".  The Hickory Bluff Archeological Study Area and the Island-Carey Wetland Mitigation sites bracket the County property to the north and south respectively.    Along with preservation and restoration activities, the Kent County Levy Court Community Services Department, Parks Division administers the St. Jones Greenway Commission and the implementation plan for the St. Jones River Greenway.

Accomplishments of the Community Services Department for the St. Jones Greenway Commission include completion of the Lebanon Landing Recreation Area and phase I of the Isaac Segment Bicycle/Pedestrian Pathway of the St. Jones Greenway.