This Earth Day, one of the best ways that area residents can help improve the natural habitat of the Route 1 corridor and surrounding environment is to focus on the Anacostia River and its tributaries.

Once called D.C.’s “forgotten river,” the nearly-nine mile river has been the focus of a plan to clean it up, with the goal of making it “fishable and swimmable” by as early as 2025.

The Anacostia Watershed Society, based in Bladensburg, will hold its annual Earth Day cleanup on Saturday, April 23, from 10 a.m. to noon at various locations on the Route 1 corridor. You can register to volunteer and/or make a donation to support its ongoing work.

Here are some other things you can do at home to help:

• Add rain gardens and permeable pavement, like the ones found on Edmonston’s “green street” and at University Park Elementary School, or install a rain barrel;

• Install “green roofs” that absorb rainfall like the one at the new Hyattsville public library;

• Reduce plastic bag use and avoid styrofoam, which is now banned in Prince George’s County businesses;

• Repair broken and leaky sewage pipes and clean up toxic sites such as a Washington Gas site and a former Pepco power plant;

• Compost at home or take advantage of local compost programs, such as the ones run by Hyattsville, University Park and College Park.

The Anacostia Watershed Society has outlined a plan to clean up the river and make it swimmable and fishable by 2025.

Support the Wire and Community Journalism
Make a one-time donation or become a regular supporter here.