(Photo by Robert Barossi)
When it comes to environmental volunteers, bodies of water are often where the energy and efforts are focused. Rivers, lakes, streams, ponds and wetlands frequently receive the attention of volunteers, often working for a local environmental organization. From taking water quality samples to pulling piles of trash out of the water, there are a number of important tasks performed by dedicated volunteers.
According to the Napa Valley Register, volunteers have been an important part of cleanup efforts along the Napa River, including removing 700 pounds of trash and debris. More than a ton of trash was taken from the Little Harpeth River, according to a similar article in The Tennessean. The event, which included a number of concerned groups in the area, featured 86 volunteers who cleaned up twenty-two miles of the river’s bank, eleven miles on each side. There may have been fewer volunteers, but a cleanup effort along the San Pedro River, mentioned in the Sierra Vista herald, was no less significant. And, of course, these efforts take place all over the world, as evidenced in this article from the Lancashire Evening Post, detailing a cleanup of River Ribble in Northern England.
Some of the environmental organizations involved in the above cleanups include:
Friends of the San Pedro River – www.sanpedroriver.org/fsprhome.shtml
Being Where You Are 