{"id":37806,"date":"2018-04-16T10:56:39","date_gmt":"2018-04-16T14:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=37806"},"modified":"2018-04-16T15:08:38","modified_gmt":"2018-04-16T19:08:38","slug":"earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Earth Keepers pitch in during Blacks Run and Downtown Clean-Up Day"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Henry Richardson stopped by the Harrisonburg Farmers Market Saturday morning with the intent of purchasing a few treats.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

But as the 22-year-old James Madison University student was browsing, he spied a large crowd across the street at the Ice House complex on South Liberty Street. He walked over to find about 600 people preparing to pick up litter as part of the annual Blacks Run and Downtown Clean Up Day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\"\"<\/a>
Accumulated trash in Blacks Run collected by the EMU volunteers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Richardson decided to pitch in.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0\u201cWe need to help out in every little way we can to help stop the deterioration of our environment,\u201d said Richardson, who was helping clean up Hillandale Park. \u201cIt was something I could do to benefit the community.\u201d<\/div>\n
\n

In its 21st year, the clean up targets the stream and areas around it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has declared Blacks Run, along with many of the waterways in the Shenandoah River Watershed, to be impaired because of the presence of E. coli and fecal matter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Each year, local residents pick up several tons of trash during a two-hour period for the event. In 2017, 516 volunteers collected 3.24 tons of refuse.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI\u2019m amazed every year that, in a short period of time, we can clean up 2 to 3 tons of trash,\u201d said Wes Runion, an environmental specialist with the city. \u201cI\u2019m also amazed that we have that much trash.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Runion has helped out in three previous cleanups. This year, he helped organize the entire day.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cIt gives the community a way to volunteer and contribute to the overall sustainability of Blacks Run and the city of Harrisonburg,\u201d Runion said. \u201cIt\u2019s a great way to clean up our local water way, and ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

This year, 560 people preregistered, while another 100 or so added to the total as part of the walk-up crowd. Runion said the 2018 event may have broken the previous record of about 650 volunteers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Either way, he\u2019s grateful for the turnout.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI had to go buy more supplies,\u201d Runion said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Earth Keepers volunteer group included (from left) Audrey Hershberger, Matt Troyer, Jack Hummel, Emma Yoder, Andy King and Tessa Waidelich.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Leons Kabongo led a team of about a dozen people from Our Community Place, a Harrisonburg nonprofit focuses mainly on helping homeless and other disadvantaged people. Kabongo, OCP\u2019s activities and programming coordinator, said the organization emphasizes giving back.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cWe care about the environment … the little ducks floating down the stream,\u201d said Kabongo, whose group targeted East Rock, East Gay and East Wolfe streets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Harrisonburg resident Andy King, a 20-year-old Eastern Mennonite University student, helped clean up with a group of students involved in Earth Keepers, a campus environmental organization.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cWe feel like it\u2019s our responsibility to help keep the environment clean,\u201d said King, who helped gather trash in the Devon Lane area. \u201c[The environment] gives us a lot and we need to give back to it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The trash collected from the event will be taken to the landfill to be weighed and then disposed of properly. Organizers plan to release the amount collected later this week.<\/p>\n

This article was published in the April 16, 2018, Daily News-Record.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Henry Richardson stopped by the Harrisonburg Farmers Market Saturday morning with the intent of purchasing a few treats. But as the 22-year-old James Madison University student was browsing, he spied ... read more about Earth Keepers pitch in during Blacks Run and Downtown Clean-Up Day<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5643,4513],"tags":[],"feature":[17427,17426],"class_list":["post-37806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environmental-sustainability","category-student-life","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-myemu-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nEarth Keepers pitch in during Blacks Run and Downtown Clean-Up Day - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Earth Keepers pitch in during Blacks Run and Downtown Clean-Up Day - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Henry Richardson stopped by the Harrisonburg Farmers Market Saturday morning with the intent of purchasing a few treats. But as the 22-year-old James Madison University student was browsing, he spied\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EasternMennonite\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-04-16T14:56:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-04-16T19:08:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/04\/20180416-Blacks-Run-Cleanup-1-1000px.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day\/\",\"name\":\"Earth Keepers pitch in during Blacks Run and Downtown Clean-Up Day - EMU News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/04\/20180416-Blacks-Run-Cleanup-1-1000px.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-04-16T14:56:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-04-16T19:08:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/04\/20180416-Blacks-Run-Cleanup-1-1000px.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/04\/20180416-Blacks-Run-Cleanup-1-1000px.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":750},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Earth Keepers pitch in during Blacks Run and Downtown Clean-Up Day\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/\",\"name\":\"EMU News\",\"description\":\"News from the Eastern Mennonite University community.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Earth Keepers pitch in during Blacks Run and Downtown Clean-Up Day - EMU News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Earth Keepers pitch in during Blacks Run and Downtown Clean-Up Day - EMU News","og_description":"Henry Richardson stopped by the Harrisonburg Farmers Market Saturday morning with the intent of purchasing a few treats. But as the 22-year-old James Madison University student was browsing, he spied","og_url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day\/","og_site_name":"EMU News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EasternMennonite","article_published_time":"2018-04-16T14:56:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-04-16T19:08:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":750,"url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/04\/20180416-Blacks-Run-Cleanup-1-1000px.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@EMU_News","twitter_site":"@EMU_News","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day\/","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day\/","name":"Earth Keepers pitch in during Blacks Run and Downtown Clean-Up Day - EMU News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/04\/20180416-Blacks-Run-Cleanup-1-1000px.jpg","datePublished":"2018-04-16T14:56:39+00:00","dateModified":"2018-04-16T19:08:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/04\/20180416-Blacks-Run-Cleanup-1-1000px.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2018\/04\/20180416-Blacks-Run-Cleanup-1-1000px.jpg","width":1000,"height":750},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2018\/earth-keepers-pitch-in-during-blacks-run-and-downtown-clean-up-day\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Earth Keepers pitch in during Blacks Run and Downtown Clean-Up Day"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/","name":"EMU News","description":"News from the Eastern Mennonite University community.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d6737034219398924e6bd5dedcfa1245","name":"admin","sameAs":["http:\/\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37806"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37827,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37806\/revisions\/37827"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37806"},{"taxonomy":"feature","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/feature?post=37806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}