Volunteers spend morning cleaning trash and debris from Charleston tidal marshes

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – Wounded Nature Working Veterans was hard at work Saturday cleaning up tidal marshes and teaching others about the importance of protecting wildlife in the Lowcountry.

Nearly 60 volunteers gathered at Remleys Point Public Boat Landing in the early morning before venturing into the pluff mud or by boat to clean up trash and debris from the marsh.

One location volunteers visited was Drum Island, which sits under the Ravenel Bridge, where organizers say has become a landing point for debris and poses a big danger to wildlife.

“The tidal marshes in these rural areas is where the habitat for wildlife lives. Whereas this is important to the next generation of seafood, shrimp, and the bird population that’s down here. It also adds to the ambiance of the town being a tourist town,” said Rudy Socha, CEO, Wounded Nature Working Veterans.

Wounded Nature Working Veterans, which works year-round to keep waterways along the South Carolina coast clean, brought in roughly 3,500 pounds of debris during Saturday’s effort… including an unusual find.

“It was a complete shower enclosure. It was about 400 yards back in a wood line. I challenged my friend Tillman Henning to get some people to pull together. We took teams of people and we got it all the way out of the woods,” said Socha.

With only one day of work behind them, volunteers said they can already see an improvement.

“If you can fill a canvas bag, that’s one more bag that’s not in the ocean being consumed or broken down by animals and ends up in our food system. Being able to fill a bag, you’re making that difference. Getting dirty is pretty fun for everybody and you are out here in the elements. It’s part of our home, it’s a part of making a different, it’s really fun to get in there,” said Bri Lewandowsi, Wounded Nature Working Veterans board member.

Organizers say the next event will likely be an abandoned boat cleanup.