The nonprofit Friends of Beltzville State Park have been talking about ways they can help the park since the group formed earlier this year. Now group members are actually getting their hands dirty.

On Wednesday, about a dozen volunteers with the Friends of Beltzville State Park fanned out around the park for a cleanup day. They went on foot and by kayak to remove trash and help beautify the park."These parks are beautiful, and with a little maintenance, we can make them even more beautiful," Friends Vice Chairman Gary Schoenberger said.Volunteers ranged from children to grandmothers - a group of LDS missionaries from across the country also joined in.The park has its own maintenance staff, but there is bound to be some trash left over during the summer months, when as many as 7,000 people will visit the park in a given day.It was the first official event, outside of a board meeting, for the new Friends of Beltzville State Park.While members of the group were excited about the amount of trash picked up, they were just as impressed with how many park lovers came out to help the cause.Friends chairman Diane Szwajkowski said that the event was just as important for building up the fledgling group."It's not just about cleaning up, it's about building community and gathering - the intention is to get together and meet people, and hopefully improve the park.Beltzville park manager Devin Buzard said the nonprofit can help draw local residents to become invested in the park, something that the park does not have the resources to do on its own."We're more operationally based. Make sure the place is safe, the grass is mowed, it's maintained," Buzard said. "This rounds out the picture, allows the community to take some ownership of the park."The nonprofit hopes to bring together local residents, as well as visitors from outside the area, who love the park.Nearly all the members talked about the good experiences they had at the park. Szwajkowski said the park helped influence her decision to move to the area."I have been hoping something like this would happen," said volunteer Jeff Wartluft, who said he tries to pick up trash whenever he walks through the park. "I hate it when I forget to bring a bag along.The nonprofit hopes to raise money to do projects that can increase accessibility to some areas of the park, and plan even more programming.In the long term, the friends hope to go beyond events like the cleanup, and sponsor events such as group hikes, fishing tournaments, and even movie nights on the park's beach.