Scrubbing the Schuylkill

Blogger's Note: The following was provided by the Schuylkill Action Network:

An estimated 1,500 people will participate in the two-month Schuylkill Scrub by picking up litter near the Schuylkill River, Pennsylvania’s River of Year.

Anyone hosting a cleanup before May 31 can register their event at SchuylkillScrub.org.

Those who do will be eligible to win a money-saving rain barrel. Events registered with Keep

No one benefits from having this junk in the river.

Pennsylvania Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup of PA will also have access to free gloves, trash bags, and safety vests at participating events. 

And they can benefit from free or reduced disposal fees at participating landfills during Pick It Up PA Days, from April 12 to May 5.

“Many people are aware of the Philly Spring Cleanup on April 5, but what happens if you’re busy during those five hours?” said Tom Davidock, an employee of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary who coordinates the Schuylkill Action Network. “That’s what’s so great about the Schuylkill Scrub; you’ve got a hundred events from which to choose.”

Eleven members of the Schuylkill Action Network have joined forces to improve on last year’s campaign, which attracted over 1,500 volunteers to almost 100 litter cleanups. 

These spanned almost 100 miles across Southeast Pennsylvania, from downtown Philadelphia to Pottsville in Schuylkill County.

Participating in the Schuylkill Scrub contributes to the success of Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s Great American Cleanup of PA. 

Last year, this organization tracked over 50,000 people volunteering in each of the five counties bordering the Schuylkill River. Together they collected more than 900 tons of trash; enough to fill almost 400 extra-large commercial dumpsters.

The Green Valleys Association and the Hay Creek Watershed Association of greater Pottstown founded the Schuylkill Scrub in 2010. Since then, dozens of organizations have partnered to promote local cleanups as part of the Schuylkill Scrub. 

Perhaps the most active is the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy located in Schwenksville.

Approximately 2,000 square miles of land drain to the Schuylkill River. This makes it the largest influence on the tidal Delaware River and Bay, otherwise known as the Delaware Estuary. 

Cities along its 130-mile path include West Philadelphia, Norristown, Pottstown, Phoenixville, Royersford, Birdsboro, Reading, and Pottsville. 

 Over 2,400 Pennsylvanians selected the Schuylkill as their River of the Year in January.

Information and online registration is available at SchuylkillScrub.org. Volunteers can also call Tom Davidock of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary at (800) 445-4935, extension 109.

Ice Climbing, the Video Version

Photo by Evan Brandt

Chris Acosta of West Pottsgrove makes his way up the ice wall at Birdsboro Waters Tuesday.

So here's the thing, despite many attempts and a genuine desire to master the craft, I'm not terribly good at making video, at least not video that looks any different from anything else a parent would shoot at their kid's birthday party.

Which is not to say I haven't learned anything.

I've learned how important sound is, and to rue the roar of passing cars and people talking off camera when they don't know you're shooting video.

But in terms of the technical tools, I remain, however much I might try, a text-centric person.

As an example, here is the merely adequate 45-second Tout video I made from some of the video footage I shot.


Luckily, I work in a place filled with talented people; people whose talents complement as well as replicate my own.

The young reporter sitting behind me is named Frank Otto and as anyone who has followed The Mercury's football coverage knows, the man has a way with the compilation video.

Photo by John Strickler

Proof that old round-belly did in fact cross 

the wire bridge over Hay Creek.

(He is also the guy who taught the old dog the new trick of picking pieces of different video segments you want and putting them into Tout. That's how I made the one you see above.)

So when he offered to take some of the video and make a longer, more complete report from it, "just to see if I can," I agreed with total confidence in the result.

And my confidence was not misplaced, as you shall see.

So yes, I hiked out through the snow to the Birdsboro Waters ice climbing site (sweating and shivering the whole while).

And yes, I crossed the two wire bridges over Hay Creek -- twice.

And yes, I shot the video and wrote the story which will appear in tomorrow's paper (but which is on-line right now.)

But let's face it, there is no way I could have assembled that raw video into the one I have embedded here below.

Certainly, it will be attached to my story on The Mercury web site, but sometimes they can be hard to find there.

So my blog readers, all five of you (I know that's a joke I use a lot, but I'm very attached to it), can now get a sneak peek at the most excellent 3-minute video Frank put together from the raw footage (do we still fall it footage when it's digital?) I shot Tuesday.



So if you think that looked pretty cool, make note that the Birdsboro Area Climbers Association will hold an open-house type event later in the year when novices can try their hands at traditional rock climbing at the site.

Check back here on The Digital Notebook or on my Twitter account (@PottstownNews) or on The Mercury web site for advance information.

Or you can check back on their web site, or their Facebook page for more information.