DLNHC is hosting the second annual Quest for the Golden Grabber trash collection contest along the D&L Trail the entire month of April. Participation is free and open to everyone.
To participate in the competition, you can join a local clean up already planned in your community (find out what’s scheduled below) or gather your friends, family, and co-workers to host your own Private Trail Tender clean up event along your favorite section of trail, spur trail, or trailhead. You can register your activity as late as Wednesday April 30, 2025 here. If you’re planning your own clean up, reach out to TCAssociate@delawareandlehigh.org to get connected with the local trail landowner, find out where to leave trash for pick up, and to get access to clean up tools and trash bags stored at the National Canal Museum in Easton.
To be entered for a chance to win the Golden Grabber, submit your clean up results on the Trail Tender reporting form starting Tuesday April 1, 2025, and before noon on Friday May 2, 2025. Please be sure to take a photo of your group while cleaning up or with the trash you’ve collected. The winning group will be announced on Friday May 9, 2025 on our website and social media pages. The most trash collected winning group will receive the coveted D&L Trail branded Golden Grabber trophy, D&L Trail basket with goodies from across the Corridor.
Quest for the Golden Grabber 2025
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Register for one of DLNHC hosted events on Celebrate Trails Day – April 26, 2025 and receive a free sample from Athletic Brewing Co. *MUST BE 21+
Clean-up Events within the Corridor
Bucks County
Bristol Borough – Bristol Borough townwide cleanup. Saturday April 26, 10am-2pm, rain date April 27. Meet at 9:45 at Snyder-Girotti School, 450 Beaver Street. All are welcome to participate – individuals and community groups.
Tinicum Conservancy – River Road Clean-Up, April 26, 8 – 10 am at the Schneiderwind Farm. Volunteers will meet at the Schneiderwind Farm parking lot just across from the Frenchtown Bridge at 8:00 AM. Safety vests, various types of gloves, pikstiks, and plastic trash bags will be provided. Participants are invited to arrive a little early and enjoy some coffee and pastries with us before we get started. Tinicum Township Police will provide a presence to help keep everyone safe. Please RSVP to Linda McNeil at lmcneill51@gmail.com if you plan to join.
Northampton County
Walnutport Canal Association Canal Cleanup – The event will take place on April 12th from 9am-12pm. The Walnutport Canal Assocation (WCA) is hosting a canal cleanup on Saturday April 12 meeting at the canal pavilion. This is a wonderful opportunity to help WCA, meet some new and old friends, and spend a beautiful spring morning outdoors helping beautify a picturesque canal. Refreshments will be provided by Thrivent Financial. WCA thanks them for their continued support!
Palmer Township – the event will take place on April 19th beginning at 8am at Fairview Park in Palmer Township. Join The Palmer Township Environmental Steering Committee on April 19th for a day of community engagement, environmental education, and sustainable practices. There will be several vendors, presentations, pickleball, a 2-mile fun walk, and demonstrations. They will also have a drive to collect gently used blankets, towels, empty rolls of paper towels and toilet paper for The Center of Animal Health & Welfare. For more information, contact: earthstewardsofpalmer@gmail.com.
Easton West Ward Earth Day Clean up – The event will take place on April 26th, from 9am-12pm, with volunteers picking up supplies from 100 North 12th St at 8:30am. Join your neighbors to spruce up the West Ward. You can work on your own, work with your neighbors, or join one of the larger neighborhood clean-up efforts. All volunteers must check in at 100 North 12th Street on the morning of the event. Register by April 9th to snag yourself a West Ward Clean Up Day t-shirt. Clean up supplies include FREE trash bags, gloves, and a few other surprises. Trash grabbers will be available for only $5 (cash only).
Easton Scott Park – The event will take place on April 26th from 9am – 12pm in Downtown Easton Scott Park. Scott Park is going to look spiffy once you’re done with it! Volunteers will be pulling up the invasive Japanese Knotweed by the waterfront, and planting native plants provided by Easton Garden Works. They will also be doing some litter cleanup by the waterfront as well. Join the fun of planting native plants this Earth Day Weekend!
Lehigh County
Catasauqua Spring Cleanup – The event will take place on Saturday April 12th from 9am –11 am. Meet at Borough Hall parking lot. Water and snacks provided as well as garbage bags, gloves, and litter picking tools. Whitehall Area Rotary Club will be participating
Keep Slatington Beautiful Cleanup – The event will take place on April 26th from 9am-12pm. A cleanup of all borough-owned parks and playgrounds, Victory Park, West End Playground, Slatington Memorial Park, The Slate Heritage Trail, Trout Creek and the confluence of Trout Creek and the Lehigh River. Meet at the Slatington Borough Municipal Garage, 524 W. Church Street at 9am to clean up the different parks around town and then have lunch at noon. Individuals, civic groups, and area Boy & Girl Scout Troops are invited to participate. Please dress appropriately: sturdy shoes & long sleeves recommended. The event will be held rain or shine, although heavy steady rain/downpours will cancel the cleanup. Groups interested in participating are asked to call Robert at (610) 554-4099 or message on Facebook Messenger via Slatington Parks & Recreation Commission.
Lehigh Gap Nature Center Annual Earth Day Cleanup, Slatington – The event will take place on Saturday May 3th from 9am to 12pm. Join the Annual Earth Day Clean-up. Lehigh Gap Nature Center is getting the gardens and refuge ready for the coming spring and summer! All volunteers are welcome.
Ironton Rail Trail Group Bike Ride – Join the IRT Group Bike Ride from 1pm – 3pm on April at 26 Saylor Park 245 N. 2nd St. Coplay for a 5-mile Loop and 4-mile Spur bike ride.
Carbon County
Pick up the Poconos – The event will take place on April 26th from 9:30am-12:30pm and will happen rain or shine at locations throughout Carbon, Monroe, Pike & Wayne Counties. This event is intended to encourage everyone to do their part in keeping the Poconos clean and green. The deadline to sign up is Friday, April 18, 2025 by 5 p.m.
Jim Thorpe Lehigh River Clean up – The event will take place on April 26th rain date April 27th at 8:00 am in Josiah White Park (train station). Participants can meet in the gazebo for trash bags, vests and gloves. Lend a hand to the land and help clean up the riverbed and community. If you have any questions or want to register a a troop or organization, please call Shelli at 570-325-2079.
Lehighton Borough Parks Cleanup – Join the Lehighton Borough Parks & Recreation Board to clean up the parks in Lehighton. The event will take place on April 26th from 11am and 4pm. Participants will be putting mulch around the trees, removing underbrush from around the creek, and freshening up the courts at Baer Memorial Park.
Luzerne County
White Haven Earth Day Celebration Clean-up – A clean-up will take place on April 25, from 9am-12pm. Join an Earth Day Celebration Clean-up on Friday, April 25 starting at 9am at the Main Street Caboose. Join the White Haven Community to Clean-up Main Street and beyond.
White Haven Community Pollinator Garden Workshop & Cleanup – The event will take place on April 26th. Volunteers will Help restore the environment one plant at a time! There will be a workshop exploring the power of native species in revitalizing ecosystems. There will be morning lecture (11:00 AM–1:00 PM) at the White Haven Area Community Library that will cover the environmental benefits of native plants and their role in restoring biodiversity. Experts will discuss how industrialization has impacted local ecosystems, strategies for soil remediation, and how to select species that thrive in Pennsylvania gardens. After a lunch break, there will be an afternoon Hands-On Garden Planting session (2:00 PM–5:00 PM) at the Old Red Caboose that will demonstrate proper planting techniques and maintenance strategies for native species. Participants will help establish a community pollinator garden and receive a native plant plug to take home. Attendees are encouraged to bring gardening gloves and tools. The morning lecture will take place rain or shine, while the garden planting has a rain date of April 27 (2:00 PM–5:00 PM) at the Old Red Caboose. Additionally, registrants can sign up to volunteer for the clean-up session, which will be on April 27 (2:00 PM–5:00 PM) at the Old Red Caboose in White Haven.
Website/Event Information: https://extension.psu.edu/restoring-the-earth-build-a-community-pollinator-garden
CONGRATULATIONS NAZARETH AREA HIGH SCHOOL – 2024 QUEST FOR THE GOLDEN GRABBER WINNERS!!
Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor is pleased to announce the winner of the first ever Quest for the Golden Grabber trash collection contest hosted to Celebrate Trails from April 20 – April 27 along the D&L Trail. The contest encouraged participants to celebrate by going outdoors and participating in a community cleanup.
The winning group was from Nazareth Area High School and was led by Olivia Davison. The group of ten students cleaned up Allentown Canal Park and removed 12 bags of litter from along the trail, river and edge of canal. They will receive a package of prizes thanks to our sponsors Jim Thorpe House of Jerky and The Soapy Bee.
The students were not the only ones who got involved in cleaning up the D&L Trail. Other cleanups were hosted along the Delaware Canal near Mueller General Store in Riegelsville, Slatington Trailhead & Slate Heritage Trail, Riverview Park Trailhead, Sand Island in Bethlehem, and Hugh Moore Park. Altogether over 75 bags of trash were collected and $500 was donated by the Jim Thorpe House of Jerky to support the 165 Fund.
The Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor
2750 Hugh Moore Park Road
Easton, PA 18042
Phone: 610.923.3548
©2025 Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Area All Rights Reserved. The Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation whose mission is to connect people to the region's industrial heritage, health and wellness, nature and environment, and economic development.
