PHOTOS: Volunteers transform litter into art at Pony Pasture

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) hosted a Clean the Bay Day out of Richmond on Saturday, where volunteers turned litter into art at Pony Pasture.

According to a press release, CBF volunteers filled ten 30-gallon trash bags with litter over the course of two hours at Pony Pasture on Saturday, July 20, as a part of Clean the Bay Day RVA.

As a result of increased foot traffic from hikers, bikers and paddlers, Pony Pasture has a high volume of litter. In the two hours that they were out there, the 15 volunteers picked up a variety of items including diapers, bookshelves, wheel covers, beer cans and cigarette butts.

This event not only improved local waterways but raised awareness about the impacts of pollution as some of the volunteers saw the litter as an artistic opportunity.

Elliot Berry and Heather Gibson with Art on Wheels began to imprint the debris they were picking up into textured print photos.

“We hope this helps people recognize the impacts of pollution, even here in Pony Pasture,” Gibson said.

Litter from streets and parks gets washed into waterways by rain, which causes microplastics and pollution to accumulate downstream in rivers and the Chesapeake Bay. The extreme summer weather Richmond has been experiencing lately brought storms to the backyards of Saturday’s volunteers, causing them to take action for a cleaner community.

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