Chad Pregracke of Living Lands & Waters is bringing crews all the way from Illinois to help the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary clean up the Delaware River. This will be the nonprofit’s only East Coast stop in its quest to remove 1 million pounds of litter from waterways.

Pregracke leapt to fame in 2010 following Discovery’s pilot television show entitled “River Warriors.” He has since received a Jefferson Award for Public Service, CNN’s Hero of the Year award, and Mitchum Deodorant’s Hardest Working Person in America award.

Pregracke and his team will lead volunteers on 18 excursions August 20, 21, 24-28, 31, and September 1. Shifts include either 9 a.m. to noon or 1 to 4 p.m. Lunch will be provided.

“We may have started with the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, but we’ve expanded our mission to include some of the major rivers in America,” said Pregracke. “The Delaware River historically has so much significance we’re happy to play a small part in helping to clean it up.”

Some of Pregracke’s volunteers will clean up Little Tinicum Island. Others will take on John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge’s Tinicum Marsh, among other destinations.

Rallying points include Penn’s Landing Marina and Ridley Marina in Pennsylvania, as well as Delair Boat Ramp in Pennsauken, New Jersey.

“We chose to target Little Tinicum Island because it collects litter from Philadelphia, Camden, and other cities,” said Lisa Wool, program director at the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary. “This is also the case in Tinicum Marsh, which is the largest freshwater tidal marsh we have left.”

Organizers will provide gloves, trash bags, and water. All volunteers must do is arrive wearing long pants and closed-toe shoes.

Those who wish to volunteer can register at the Delaware River Cleanups webpage or  contact Amber Pribyl at 563-505-8321 or send email to: Amber@LivingLandsandWaters.org.

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8/17/2015