DOVER, Del. - In the shadow of the Delaware State Capitol sits Mirror Lake, along the St. Jones River.
And often on the shores of the lake visitors can find trash and invasive overgrowth.
"And when there's trash and pollution that builds up, it just takes away from the beauty, and then also it can impact the wildlife, it can impact the water quality that's out here," said Mark Biddle. Biddle works for the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), one several groups who sent volunteers to help clean up the wetland at Mirror Lake and improve the nearby park for Earth Day.
In the past, the St. Jones River has had its environmental troubles, becoming polluted with cancer-causing chemicals.
The wetland at Mirror Lake was created more than ten years ago as part of a project to clean the river's water.
In addition to DNREC, volunteers from the City of Dover, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and Bally's Dover were on hand to help out, planting some new trees, taking care of some gardening, cleaning up trash, and removing invasive overgrowth.
One volunteer believes that clean parks and rivers have mental health benefits.
"We work all week, we need a place to go and relax, and have fun, and when you're looking at something like the trash and the overgrown plants, it's just not a good feeling," said Nancy McCoy, a volunteer from Bally's Dover.
Bally's Dover volunteers help lay bricks and care for trees.
Members of Alpha Kappa Alpha planted a tree to replace an old tree that had to be removed.
One of the members found the entire project to be part of a greater calling to serve.
"Our forefounders would be just overjoyed because that is part of us just being a service to all mankind and today the tree planting is just an example of us being a service to all mankind," said Sherwanda Rachal-Speaks, President of the Epsilon Iota Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha.
Thursday's event was part of Delaware's Earth Month, which features several environmental clean up activities throughout the month.