MCI Bass River State Forest Cleanup, 2010
On Sunday, November 28, the MCI Enduro Club hosted the15th annual Bass River State Forest Clean Up. While most people spend the Sunday after Thanksgiving eating leftovers, playing neighborhood football, or shopping for the upcoming Holiday season, 30 MCI members braved the late November weather to clean up the forest. MCI President Dave Nash, "The clean up day is our way of giving back to the environment that provides MCI with the opportunity to do what we enjoy. We want others to enjoy a clean environment and to support the Parks Department in their goal of providing clean park space. The clean up day also helps illustrate the enduro community is interested in the well being of the forest and is a positive partner in state land use."
From being an active participant in the forest, MCI knew of two major areas where illegal dumping tends to be an issue and had recently noticed that trash was accumulating.
MCI cleaned 10 distinct spots around Green Streets and Poorman’s Parkway areas, removing a mix of old building materials, discarded household items, and shattered windows and large glass shards-ridding the forest of a hazardous and potentially harmful situation. One of the groups pulled a half submerged boat out of the lakefront and filled it with collected trash/bottles from the area in essence removing a "boat load" of trash from the forest.
MCI participants volunteered their personal vehicles to facilitate the trash removal. The club used 10 pick up trucks and 4 vans to carry trash from deep within the forest to various bass river maintenance areas where dumpsters were made available to the club. Over the course of three hours, MCI removed approximately 24 cubic yards of trash from the forest, enough to overfill three dumpsters.
About MCI
Founded in 1969, MCI is an East Coast Enduro Association and American Motorcycle Association chartered riding club. MCI provides an annual enduro riding experience using little used sections of Bass River State Forest cleared for use by Pinelands and State Parks personnel. Annual MCI philanthropic initiatives include:
* Monetary donations to the Warren Grove Volunteer Fire Department
* Monetary donations to the Multiple Sclerosis Bike Ride
* Toy donations to the Toy for Tots toy drive
* Organization of the Annual MCI Bass River State Forest Clean Up
