Volunteers invited to upcoming Wharton Township cleanup
With Earth Day in mind, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’s Bureau of Forestry is paying special attention to a portion of Forbes State Forest in Wharton Township, and they’re asking for volunteers to help in the cleanup.
“We’re working with Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, PennDOT and Wharton Township, and we’re putting together the cleanup efforts to get an old dump site on Wharton Furnace Road,” said forest ranger Rogers Clawson.
Clawson said Columbia Gas has also committed to helping with the cleanup, noting that they’ll retrieve the larger items including a freezer, refrigerators and tires.
For years, that portion of Wharton Furnace Road — about 100 yards south of the DCNR parking lot between the Wharton Furnace and Wharton Furnace Union Church — Clawson said people used to pull off there and dump garbage.
It’s on a relatively steep embankment and not always visible from the roadway.
“We’ve been looking for an opportunity and finally got it, and it’s just a wonderful area. I think the public will really enjoy it once it’s cleaned up,” Clawson said, noting that there’s a stream just down hill of the dump site, and the area is ideal for bird watching.
Clawson said volunteers can meet at the Wharton Furnace at 8 a.m. April 21, where they’ll divvy up work and power through until late afternoon.
“Beyond the visual, any type of fishing line or ropes or strings can be harmful to animals,” Clawson said, noting that smaller items can be ingested and cause harm internally.