The group has found everything — including the kitchen sink — in area greenways and waterways
By Samantha Bambino
The Times
Bristol Township’s Dale Frazier, who suffered from multiple spinal injuries, wasn’t exactly the textbook definition of good health. Neither was Levittown’s Edmund Armstrong, who has a morphine pump surgically implanted, not to mention severe fibromyalgia.
But those ailments never stopped the two from climbing through woods and jumping across streams (with Armstrong tearing his meniscus), all in an effort to remove decades of debris from area greenways and waterways.
Ten years ago, Frazier formed the 501(c)(3) nonprofit G.O.A.L.S. (Greenbelt Overhaul Alliance of Levittown) after he became sick of seeing litter plaguing the space between the Farmbrook and Stonybrook sections of the neighborhood, where he often walked his dog. He wanted to make a change, and knew there had to be like-minded individuals in his community.
Though Frazier passed away in 2015, Armstrong, who serves as president, Ellen Miller, who is vice president, and more than 500 local volunteers, have successfully upheld and expanded the mission of G.O.A.L.S. To date, the organization has removed more than 600,000 pounds of rubbish, removed and recycled more than 25,000 tires, planted 2,000 native trees and shrubs, cleaned more than 17 miles of waterway, and donated more than 15,000 volunteer hours.
On a recent Wednesday afternoon, The Times sat down with Armstrong and Miller, who chronicled the history of G.O.A.L.S., most rewarding cleanups to date, and how the group is working to educate residents of all ages on the importance of keeping the environment clean. Armstrong first encountered Frazier during his tenure as a councilmember in Tullytown. Frazier, who had yet to become an official nonprofit and was simply picking up litter himself, attended a meeting to explain the work he intended to do. The council couldn’t donate money to Frazier until he earned 501(c)(3) status, but Armstrong was intrigued, stepping out into the hallway with this stranger to learn more.
“I got suckered into it,” Armstrong said with a laugh, comparing the conversation to Muhammad Ali’s famous “rope-a-dope.”
The two soon realized they made the perfect team. While Frazier had connections with Churchville Nature Center and Heritage Conservancy, Armstrong had deep knowledge of computers and desktop publishing, as well as a lengthy political background, which helped G.O.A.L.S. secure financial aid from the Bucks County commissioners.
Over the years, the group has worked on countless cleanup projects, with a select few always remaining at the forefront of the members’ minds. For Miller, an unforgettable accomplishment was installing a rain garden at the Bristol Township Senior Center, which regularly flooded. Three levels of water retention areas were dug and 8,000-square-feet of space was planted, all mere days before Hurricane Sandy.
“It used to be just a muddy piece of grass that was always holding water,” she said.
A site that sees regular efforts by G.O.A.L.S. is Levittown’s Black Ditch Creek, which Armstrong referred to as a “nasty” body of water. Here, volunteers have planted 460 native trees and shrubs, and removed everything from a kitchen sink to a bathtub. Still, those aren’t the strangest items to be uncovered. Findings have included an entire rear end of a truck, a motorcycle, and a stolen hard drive filled with unreleased songs of the late artist Danny DeGennaro.
“You never know what you’re going to find,” Armstrong said.
But no matter the location, there somehow never seems to be a lack of tires. Several times, G.O.A.L.S. tasked itself with removing hundreds in one day. To make the job easier, especially when the tires are weighed down with mud, Armstrong crafted a zipline and rope to help pull them out of water and up cliffs.
According to him, technology such as this was made possible thanks to funding by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, which helped G.O.A.L.S. fund three cleanups in 2018.
Despite its members being admittedly older (Armstrong is now 69, Miller is 74), G.O.A.L.S. rarely says “no” to a cleanup, and regularly takes on rough jobs no one else wants. To aid in some of these projects, G.O.A.L.S often invites student volunteers from the Bristol Township and Pennsbury School Districts, as well as non-violent, non-sexual juvenile delinquents who have to complete service hours.
“The kids, when they start, have a real attitude. But by the end of the day, when you give them praise for doing positive things, they’re just a pleasure,” said Miller.
“We talk to them like adults. We talk to them with respect, and it’s probably not what they’re getting somewhere,” added Armstrong.
G.O.A.L.S. runs five cleanups in the spring and five in the fall, in addition to offering educational seminars for the community. In October, it will welcome Mike McGrath, host of the radio show “You Bet Your Garden,” who will discuss what people can do with fall leaves. The group also aids Silver Lake Nature Center in cleaning the Magnolia Lake area on Earth Day, and Heritage Conservancy in maintaining Bristol Marsh and Croydon Woods on Martin Luther King Day. ••
Visit LTownGoal.com for more information on how to get involved.
Samantha Bambino can be reached at [email protected]
