Mission: Clean Streams 2010

From the Suburban Journal

Cleaning up our waterways
Volunteers pull trash, appliances out of streams

By Kalen Ponche
Tuesday, March 30, 2010 9:27 AM CDT

Nearly 1,200 people pulled plastic bottles, food wrappers and even washing machines from local rivers and streams in a regional cleanup event Saturday.

The Greenway Network in St. Charles County and Trailnet in St. Louis County planned their spring stream clean events for the same day this year.

"I thought it was so great there were these events going on simultaneously," said Laura Cohen, confluence project director at Trailnet. "We wanted to make it easy for people to come out and clean up the rivers."

On Saturday, volunteers picked up nearly 250 tires from areas around the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge and Creve Coeur Lake, in addition to nearly 13,000 pounds of trash.

"It's a great opportunity for people to come out and really make a difference," Cohen said. "Every plastic bottle, bag (and) shopping cart is one less thing that is polluting the river and impacting people's drinking water."

In St. Charles County, six cities and the county government hosted opportunities to pick up trash. Volunteers in O'Fallon cleaned up several tributaries and stenciled warning signs on storm drains.

Michele Gremminger, storm water management coordinator for O'Fallon, said many people don't think about how the things they dump down the storm drain will affect their local streams.

"The big ones are yard waste, leaves, oil, paint and solvents, fertilizers, it all goes there," she said. "We'll see an increase in algae blooms from grass clippings, leaves and fertilizers, which is bad because it takes oxygen out of the water."

Down in the streams, cleanup crews found everything from tricycles and bicycles to dryers and refrigerators, said Charlene Waggoner, president of Greenway Network, a regional organization based in St. Charles County that encourages protection of the area's watersheds.

Waggoner said they are still calculating how much trash the volunteers hauled from the creeks.

"It's really exciting to realize how many people go out and make a huge difference," she said.

First-time volunteers Thomas Eck, 8, and his father Kevin Eck walked along a creek in Barathaven Park on Saturday.

Among their more memorable discoveries were an engine half-submerged in the mud and part of a deer skeleton.

They couldn't get the engine out, but Thomas took home the deer bones.

"We definitely both have more of an appreciation for how much trash gets thrown out of car windows," said Kevin Eck.

Both Trailnet and the Greenway Network will be hosting stream clean events in the future. For more information visit www.confluencegreenway.org or www.greenwaynetwork.org.

SUCCESS!!

Mission: Clean Stream

2010

On Saturday March 27, volunteers from St. Charles County, Greenway Network, and the communities of Cottleville, Dardenne Prairie, Lake St. Louis, O’Fallon, St. Charles and Wentzville removed trash from local streams and lakes. The last time Operation Clean Stream mobilized in St. Charles County, nearly 600 volunteers pulled over 28,000 pounds of trash from Dardenne, Peruque, Belleau, Spencer and Cole Creeks. This year we had even more people volunteer.

Once again the Stream Trash ART (START) project ran in conjunction with the stream cleaning.  This project, created by Greenway Network project director Ralph Rollins, salvages metal pulled from the streams and uses it to create new works of art.  Local artists worked at the Quail Ridge Park site to create works of art from materials found.  Look for local works to be on display in your community throughout the rest of 2010.

Families, organizations and individuals participated by meeting at their nearest community sites.  From there the volunteers were assigned areas along creeks around the entire county.  They did a wonderful job as usual.  It is estimated that 620 people helped clean the streams.  Trash amounts will be announced later after weighing.

Thanks to all the folks from the cities and County listed below

• Dardenne Prairie (636) 561-1718
  • Meet at Barat Haven Trailhead
• Cottleville (636) 498-6565 x203
  • Meet at City Hall
• Wentzville/Lake St. Louis/ St. Charles County  (636) 332-9236
  • Meet at Quail Ridge Group Picnic Area
• O’Fallon  (636) 379-5408
  • Meet at Civic Park
• St. Charles  (636) 949-3237
  • Meet at Fountain Lakes Park

The day started at 8:30 a.m. with registration at one of the five rendezvous locations listed above.   Everyone dressed for the weather and wore sturdy shoes or boots and most brought their own gloves.   Breakfast or lunch was provided depending upon location.   FreeT-shirts, thanks to Missouri Stream Team and Greenway Network, were given to our volunteers.