Local Groups to Clean Litter from Our Rivers

Volunteers Pitch In as Part of American Rivers National River Cleanup Week

{sidebar id=1}Local citizens are banding together to tackle pollution on the Apalachicola and Carrabelle Rivers as part of National River Cleanup Week 2007. The Apalachicola Riverkeeper will coordinate a river and stream cleanup with the help of volunteers on Saturday, June 2nd from 8 a.m. until noon. The cleanup will be followed by picnics at the Wheelhouse Café in Apalachicola and at the City Pavilion in Carrabelle.

“The Apalachicola Riverkeeper is dedicated to protecting the Apalachicola River because a healthy community starts with a healthy river. Our volunteers are excited to pitch in because a cleaner river is a healthier river,” said Andy Smith, Executive Director. “Our group is working with the Friends of the Waterfront in Carrabelle who are committed to protect the Carrabelle River."

National River Cleanup Week, presented by American Rivers, kicks off a series of community-based stream cleanups nationwide beginning the week of June 2-10, 2007. This popular annual event raises public awareness of the magnitude of trash accumulating in our nation’s waterways. The Apalachicola Riverkeeper will be participating along with tens of thousands of volunteers in hundreds of cleanups across the country. Learn more about National River Cleanup Week at www.nationalrivercleanup.org.

“The Apalachicola and Carrabelle Rivers are so important to our community that we’ve got to take every opportunity we can to protect it. Keeping them clean is one way that we can do our part,” said Smith.”

“It’s thrilling to see so many people across the nation pitching in to protect their local river or favorite stream,” said Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers, the organization that coordinates National River Cleanup Week. “We applaud the work of the Apalachicola Riverkeeper and Friends of the Carrabelle Waterfront not just for speaking out for their rivers, but for taking action to keep them healthy.”

The cleanup is being organized by the Apalachicola Riverkeeper and the Wheelhouse Café and Tours and in Carrabelle, by the Friends of the Waterfront, Carrabelle CARES and the City of Carrabelle.

At 8 a.m. on Saturday June 2nd we will gather at the Wheelhouse Café in Apalachicola and disperse to the selected cleanup sites, which at present include, Scipio Creek, 10-foot hole, east end of Gorrie Bridge, Abercrombie Landing, Graham Creek Landing, Bloody Bluff Landing, and other sites on the Apalachicola River. The Friends of the Carrabelle Waterfront will focus on the both sides of the Carrabelle River from the Tillie Miller Bridge to the mouth of the river.

Please contact the Apalachicola Riverkeeper at 850-653-8936 to volunteer. We need volunteers to clean up land sites, such as the boat landings, to clean up creek and river sites using canoes or kayaks, and to clean up sites using power boats. We also need volunteers with pick-up trucks to assist in transporting full garbage bags and other items to the dumpsters that the County will put at the Pavilion in Carrabelle, 10-foot hole and the Wheelhouse in Apalachicola.

This article originally published on May 29, 2007.

Written by :