JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
Joint Base Langley-Eustis Soldiers, Airmen and their families teamed up with Boy-and-Cub Scouts troops to participate in the 27th Annual Clean the Bay Day at the Fort Eustis and Langley Air Force Base, Virginia shorelines June 6.
Clean the Bay Day is a Virginia-wide initiative to conserve the natural habitats and water quality within the Chesapeake Bay.
"What you see is not permanent. If you don't take care of it, it's going to go away," said Don Johnson, 733rd Civil Engineer Division Fort Eustis Clean the Bay Day coordinator, of the country's largest estuary with 1,500 square miles of wetlands housing approximately 250 species of marine life and 300 species of birds along with ground animals along the shores.
"The Chesapeake Bay is a vital resource for everyone on the East Coast," added U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Trevor Webber, 633rd Civil Engineer Squadron Langley Air Force Base Clean the Bay coordinator." By having events like Clean the Bay Day, we are helping the environment, but also making the peninsula a better place to live."
This year, more than 175 volunteers cleaned the JBLE shorelines picking up approximately 2,750 pounds of debris.
"We are a part of the Hampton Roads community," said Webber. "The military is a big impact on the Bay and a lot of people are looking at us to be environmental stewards for the peninsula. The installation is our home and it is our responsibility to keep our shores clean so everyone in the Chesapeake Bay can enjoy them."
While volunteers scoured the wetlands retrieving potato chip bags and soda cans, they saw box turtles, herrings and blue crabs. As they saw the wildlife in a now near-pristine environment, volunteers had the opportunity to ask environmentalists about animals, plants and their habitats.
"The big purpose of events like this is education," said Webber. "We need to educate the population in order for them to make a difference. We have a lot of volunteers, and this is a great way to keep them involved."
According to Johnson, education is especially important among the younger generation, including the Scouts who participated in the event because youth are the key to ensuring initiatives like Clean the Bay Day continue throughout the years.
"With the younger generations it's easy to instill that sustainability idea," said Johnson. "Here, they get their questions answered and see why it's important to care for the ecosystem."
Cub Master Michael Lajole said the day was a great opportunity for the scouts to learn and give back to the community.
As the scouts and Service members collected their bags of debris, they left that Saturday morning having made a difference in their community and the wildlife that surrounds it.