Roll Up Your Sleeves: Alexandria Needs Volunteers to Clean Historic Holmes Run

The City will provide bags, gloves and trash grabbers for a Sunday morning cleanup aimed at protecting wildlife and reducing pollution reaching the Chesapeake Bay.

Keyphrase synonyms: Holmes Run cleanup, Alexandria stream cleanup, volunteer Alexandria Sunday, Beatley Library cleanup, Chesapeake Bay pollution prevention

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Alexandrians can spend Sunday morning helping clean one of the city’s most important stream corridors—and the City will supply the gloves, bags and trash grabbers.

The Department of Transportation and Environmental Services’ Stormwater Management Division will host a cleanup of Historic Holmes Run from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 20.

Volunteers will meet in the parking lot of Charles E. Beatley, Jr. Central Library, 5005 Duke St., for sign-in and a pre-cleanup briefing before heading into the nearby stream corridor.

The City says bags, gloves, trash grabbers and first-aid supplies will be available. Participants should wear sturdy shoes, dress for outdoor work and bring plenty of water.

Small Pieces of Litter Add Up

Holmes Run is more than a neighborhood waterway. Litter and debris carried through the stream can harm local wildlife and continue downstream toward the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay.

Sunday’s volunteers will remove material from the corridor to improve water quality, protect habitat and reduce that flow of pollution.

The cleanup is free, and the official City calendar does not list an advance-registration requirement.

Sunday’s forecast currently includes a chance of afternoon showers and thunderstorms, but the cleanup is scheduled for the morning. Participants should check the City calendar before leaving in case weather changes the plan.