Friends of Patapsco Valley & Heritage Greenway sponsored a bird watching hike along the Grist Mill Trail in Patapsco State Park. Bird watching experts and enthusiasts, Dave and Elaine Pardoe, guided 13 PHG members and other friends along a hike where we were able to observe and listen to several species of birds, including: the Great Blue Heron, Baltimore Oriole, Goldfinch, Green Heron, Bluebird, Red Eyed Bireo, Carolina Wren, Downy Woodpecker, Acadia Fly Catcher, Cardinal, Titmouse, Red Start, Yellow Throated Warbler, Carolina Chickadee, Summer Tanger, Blue Jay, American Crow, Flicker, Great Bellied Woodpecker, Pewee, Parula and the Blue Gray Knatcatcher. Along the way, we also observed some unusual fungus growing on trees that none of us could identify (see photos) and discovered what we believe may be a 200-300 year old Sycamore tree, right off the Grist Mill Trail! We met several hikers, runners, kayakers and others along the trail and picked up trash along the way! A great day for bird watching as well as nature watching!

On a cloudy, Thursday morning, students and ee adult teachers, parents and other Friends of Patapsco Valley & Heritage Greenway member volunteers helped remove 1,219 pounds of trash and some invasive garlic mustard from Howard County parkland along the Patapsco River in historic Ellicott City. Students from Hammond Middle School were broken up into 9 teams, for the first group of students to clean up along the River. Team 7 was the winning team on Thursday, removing an amazing 312 pounds! Special thanks to our business sponsors for the day, the Trolley Stop Restaurant and Old Mill Bakery, off Oella Avenue! Congratulations to the winning team and a special thank you to Hammond Middle School for a job well done!

On a cloudy, chilly Tuesday morning, 104 students and 16 adult teachers, parents and other Friends of Patapsco Valley & Heritage Greenway member volunteers helped remove 1,309 pounds of trash and some invasive garlic mustard from Baltimore County parkland along the Patapsco River in historic Ellicott City. Students from Hammond Middle School were broken up into 11 teams, for the first group of students to clean up along the River. Team 21 was the winning team on Tuesday, removing an amazing 338 pounds! Special thanks to our business sponsor for the day, the Old Mill Bakery, off Oella Avenue! Congratulations to the winning team and a special thank you to Hammond Middle School for a job well done!

Rainy weather wouldn't stop Friends of Patapsco Valley & Heritage Greenway die-hard volunteers to come out and pull an amazing ton of the invasive garlic mustard throughout Patapsco State Park. Brian Schanexader of Arbutus defended his 2008 title as this year's Most Pounds Pulled winner, while UMBC Students for Environmental Awareness also defended their 2008 title as the group with Most Pounds Pulled! Soaked to the bone, after the two hour pulling competition, volunteers were treated to live music, environmental exhibits, Scales & Tales, history experts, bubble gum blowing contest and sampling of dishes made with garlic mustard. First place for the adult chef challenge was awarded to Bill McMillion for his stuffed garlic mustard leaves dish, while first place youth chef challenge was awarded to Lauren McMillion for her garlic mustard brownies. A wet day, but great day for removing over a ton of invasive garlic mustard weed, better known as the villain of the valley!

Friends of Patapsco Valley & Heritage Greenway sponsored another cleanup along the Patapsco River, off of Levering Avenue in Elkridge near the historic Thomas Viaduct Bridge. Even with the 90 degree weather, over 50 tires were removed, thanks to the effort of 51 volunteers. We even had a wedding party celebrate their upcoming wedding with a river cleanup (see the bride with the yellow safety vest veil and shawl)! Thanks to the efforts of all the volunteers, we removed over a ton of trash, mainly from the river and items from the watershed that were dated back to Hurricane Agnes in the 1970s! Great job everyone!

Friends of Patapsco Valley & Heritage Greenway stream team members Kit Valentine, Betsy McMillion, Lee Moser and Teddy Betts walked along a section of Herbert Run, located near the CSX train park and ride parking lot, off of Southwest Boulevard in Halethorpe. We uncovered a great deal of litter washed into the stream from nearby storm drains, as well as erosion issues and suspect sewer problems. Upon completion of our report, a copy will be posted at our website at http://www.patapscoheritagegreenway.org//books.html. A future cleanup in this area is being planned and concerns will be submitted to Baltimore County for action.

Friends of Patapsco Valley & Heritage Greenway joined forces with the Baker Group for a stream cleanup along a section of Stoney Run off River Road in Anne Arundel County near BWI airport. Baker Group employees and other FPVHG members and volunteers helped to remove over a ton of junk and trash from this watershed area! Thanks to our volunteers for a job well done!

Friends of Patapsco Valley & Heritage Greenway partnered with two terrific college students -- Steven and Alex, to clean up a trouble-some area along Deep Run, off of Loudon Avenue where there was a great deal of accumulated trash and litter along the road which ends up in the stream! They picked up approximately 350 pounds of trash in just a few hours! Special thanks to Steve and Alex for all their hard work!

Friends of Patapsco Valley & Heritage Greenway sponsored its first kayak/canoe river cleanup along the Patapsco River, off of River Road in Ellicott City/Catonsville. Stream Captain Captain Betsy McMillion led 46 volunteers to remove approximately 3,560 pounds of trash from the river (most of the trash was embedded tires removed from the river from our kayak and canoe volunteers)! Great job and special thanks to all the volunteers!

Friends of Patapsco Valley & Heritage Greenway partnered with the Southwest Catonsville Democratic Club Members for a cleanup along a section of the Thistle Branch, off of Thistle Road in Catonsville. Stream Captain Julia Graham led a group of volunteers to remove approximately 815 pounds of trash from the stream. Great job and special thanks to all the volunteers!