The wooded banks of the Anacostia River are within sight of the DC National

Guard Armory, but feel a world away.  The DC Metro's orange line passing

overhead is just one mark of human interference of these peaceful

surroundings:  Until Saturday, the park was covered in years worth of trash.

In a project sponsored by the Anacostia Watershed Society, members of the

DCANG and their families took a Saturday morning to help clean the area

around Kingman Park in Washington, DC.  

Bonnie Herriot, a civilian employee in the environmental office, has been

coordinating the event for three years.  Her daughter, Tiana, age eleven, has

volunteered for every year.  Some of the most energetic volunteers were some

of the youngest.  Major Daniel Fulford of the 74th Troop Command set an

example of community service with his sons, Daniel and Marcus, and his

daughter Morgan.  

Altogether, the DCNG group contributed over forty man-hours of service.

Most volunteers stated that their favorite part of the event was interacting

with other community groups.  The area was sponsored by the electric company

PEPCO, who was generous with the neon green shirts they gave their employees

for the event.  Other volunteers in the area included employees of Accenture

and DC Public Schools as well as volunteers from the Audobon Society and the

Underwater Adventure Seekers.

The Anacostia Watershed Society was founded in 1989 by a small group of

concerned individuals who decided that the environmental needs of the

Anacostia River and its watershed communities required serious attention.

The watershed clean-up was followed by an Earth Day Celebration in

Bladensburg, MD.