Volunteers Spruce up MBT on Fourth of July Holiday

By Kendra Allen, MBT Summer Trail Ambassador         

The Fourth of July is probably one of the most anticipated holidays of the summer season. But of course, why wouldn’t it be? With the promise of fireworks, delicious dishes at barbeques, the day off from work and most importantly, the act of celebrating our nation. This year on the Fourth of July, a handful of volunteers kicked-off their holiday by helping Rails-to-Trails Conservancy spruce up the Met Branch Trail. Bearing trash bags, rakes, brooms and gloves, we worked our way along the trail from Edgewood Street, NE (Franklin Street Bridge) to just past the S Street NE pocket park. The clean-up included removing trash from the trail and scouting for any damage caused by the storm from the weekend before.

Volunteer Randall Meyers at the trail clean-up. 

One volunteer, Randall Myers, filled an entire extra-large trash bag by himself. He lives by Fort Totten and uses the trail to navigate the city safely on his bike, sometimes to get to work. He is no stranger to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and regularly participates in the various events that are held on the trail. “It’s important to organize events on the trail because it makes people more aware and comfortable using it. The trail should be fun for people in the neighborhood,” said Myers. He offered volunteers a valuable piece of advice regarding clean-ups, "If it looks biological, don’t pick it up."

We got a lot accomplished during our clean up and we were very grateful for our volunteers who were able to make it. We’ll have cleanups every Wednesday in July from 4-7 pm. Hopefully, you’ll join us!



Before and After Photos