MORRISVILLEMilitary on duty in Morrisville
Posted: Wednesday, May 2, 2012 3:59 pm | Updated: 7:30 pm, Wed May 2, 2012.
Without hesitation, Petty Officer 1st Class Tiffany Archer enlisted to do a job much appreciated in Morrisville: cleaning up a riverfront preserve.
"If a community needs us, we are here to help," said the 31-year-old Navy officer.
Archer, along with about 60 other military personnel from the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey, volunteered their muscles to Morrisville to clear more than 1,000 feet of trail, making the 8-acre riverfront tract more accessible to the public.
"The work is difficult and demanding, making the strong arms of the military most welcome," said Debby Colgan, a member of the borough's Environmental Advisory Council.
The group of volunteers is part of a Department of Defense Joint Unit composed of 140 Navy, Marine, USAF Airmen and civilians who support four local Navy and Marine aviation squadrons and deployment operations. Their regular duty is to provide logistics and maintenance support for the C-130T Hercules and C-9 Skytrain aircraft, the CH-53E Super Stallion, AH-1W Super Cobra, and UH-1N Huey helicopters.
When community projects come up, the unit jumps at the opportunity to volunteer.
"It's nice to know we are making a safe trail for kids, removing logs to avoid them from tripping," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Ebony Williams, 25.
The trail blazing was done without vehicles or heavy equipment, to avoid damage to the site, which is undergoing restoration.
Staff Sgt. Ryan Kruse, the unit's volunteer coordinator and a Morrisville resident, reached out to the borough in search for a community project.
Kruse met with the Delaware Riverkeeper Network's restoration specialist and Morrisville's EAC members to mark the course for the main trail, which is now parallel to the shoreline along the higher ground. Access points to the river also will be opened.
The trail work followed a recent reseeding project, and soon the site will re-vegetate with native plant species, a vital step in the restoration of the natural lands and flood zone preserve, Colgan said.
"Morrisville is proud and fortunate to have been chosen as a location worthy of their time and service. We salute and thank them for their exemplary community spirit," she said.
The public access to the parkland is at Philadelphia and Delmorr avenues in the southern portion of the borough.
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