On November 6 Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, together with the Lucketts Ruritan Club, held the first trash clean-up day at JK Black Oak Wildlife Sanctuary. Although the day started out cold, it warmed up and turned out to be a perfect day to be outside. The event brought together 30 volunteers to clean up trash in the forest along Stumptown Road and at one of the vernal pools on the property.

Abandoned Buick LeSabre.
Photo by Sheri Knauer

Throughout the morning we collected: over 20 discarded tires; hundreds of old bottles; a satellite dish; parts of old cars, bicycles, washing machines; and plenty of scrap metal, including fencing. Most trash was found along the edge of the LeSabre vernal pool, which takes its name from the old Buick LeSabre parked at the pool’s edge. The LeSabre Pool is one of several vernal pools on the property, but appears to be the only one that was used as a dump.  Based on the trash we found, the dumping occurred in the 1960s and 70s.

Organized by Ruritan Barbara Scott,  participants were members of the Lucketts Ruritan Club, Tuscarora High School Key Club, Boy Scout Troop 1910 and the Lucketts community along with team leads from Loudoun Wildlife. The volunteers collected over 35 bags of trash, which were dropped off at the Lucketts Ruritan Saturday Trash & Recycling Service. Bulk scrap metal was hauled away by Peter Gustafson to a center for recycling, and the tires will be taken to the county landfill.

After a morning of hard work, the area around the pool looked much better and more natural.  Sincere thanks to all volunteers who came out and supported this trash clean up day.