Column: Help with river clean-up

The back-to-school sales are in full swing and this morning the temperature was a cool 60 degrees. Fall is on its way and with it are two great opportunities to get outdoors and lend a helping hand to improve our rivers.

The first is the Cannon River Watershed Partnership’s annual cleanup from 9 a.m. to noon Sept. 15. In the past three years, more than 500 volunteers have pulled 63,000 pounds of trash and debris from sites across the watershed to include Cannon Falls, Faribault, Owatonna, Medford, Northfield, Red Wing, Waterville and Welch.

It’s truly astonishing what people throw into our waters. We’ve pulled out tires, bed frames, chain saws, pipes, wood, bicycles and much more.

There are jobs for every ability. These include picking up trash, registering volunteers, passing out snacks and taking pictures. Some people bring canoes and get into the water while others comb the shores.

Many sites have picnic lunches to celebrate and thank the volunteers when we are done.

To learn about this year’s locations or sign up, contact us at 507-786-3915 or vist www.crwp.net/wateshed-cleanup.

The second event is a month later. On Oct. 13 the River Valleys' Girl Scouts are sponsoring community cleanups that will prevent 20,000 pounds of phosphorus from entering waterways by raking and bagging organic debris like grass and leaves. Keeping this organic matter out of the water will help to reduce algae growth that can kill fish and makes for nasty green slime that limits our ability to enjoy the water.

Activities will include:

• Raking, sweeping, bagging and removing loose dirt, grass and leaves from public spaces where debris accumulates;

• Distributing door hangers informing the community about how they can help Girl Scouts make the world a better place;

• Labeling storm drains with messages warning citizens to not dump pollutants into them.

Everyone is invited to participate in Centennial Day of Service, including Girl Scout friends and families. To learn, more go to http://www.gsrv100.org/centennial_day_of_service/.

Thanks in advance for your help keeping our watershed beautiful!

Tags: lifestyle, outdoors, environment, minnesota