BERLIN — The Delmarva Free School and Assateague Coastal Trust will partner for a cleanup of Holly Grove Road next month.
The Worcester County Commissioners agreed last week to support the collaborative effort by providing two deputies from the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office to ensure traffic and pedestrian safety during the cleanup.
“I’d like to thank you for what you’re doing,” Commissioner Bud Church said. “I think you’re going to need three dump trucks.”
Kelly McMullen, founder and clinical director of the Delmarva Free School, said her West Ocean City-based organization offered mental health services in the community. The Delmarva Free School recently partnered with Assateague Coastal Trust.
“I also do free psychoeducational community seminars for mental health and wellness and we’ve been doing the seminars in collaboration with Assateague Coastal Trust this summer about the importance of being connected to your natural environment for good mental health and wellness,” McMullen said.
She said that after seeing the success of Assateague Coastal Trust’s Trash Free Assateague program she contacted Billy Weiland, the program’s founder, about a partnership to cleanup Holly Grove Road.
“When the water table is high it’s swampland and it’s covered in trash, as is Sinepuxent Road, and those drain into Trappe Creek back there which goes to the Sinepuxent back bay,” she said.
To help address the problem, she and members of Delmarva Free School will join volunteers from Assateague Coastal Trust on Saturday, Nov. 2. Escorted by two deputies, they’ll pick up trash along Holly Grove Road from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
The commissioners voted 6-0 to approve the request for two deputies to assist. Sheriff Matt Crisafulli said his agency was happy to help.
“We thank the Delmarva Free School and Assateague Coastal Trust for everything they do to make our community better,” he said.