St. Louis, Mo., March 5, 2013… The Great Rivers Greenway District, Trailnet and the St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) are inviting area residents to join them in their fight to clean up the rivers and creeks within the Confluence Greenway and the Missouri/Mississippi River watersheds. One of the region’s largest river cleanups, the Confluence Trash Bash, will be held Saturday, March 23, 2013, starting at 8:30 a.m. Over 1,000 volunteers are expected. Past cleanup efforts have removed over 20 tons of trash from area streams and rivers.
Volunteers can choose from four starting locations that include the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge off Riverview Drive in Bellefontaine Neighbors, Creve Coeur Lake in Maryland Heights, Ferdinand Park in Florissant and Chouteau Township at 3244 West Chain of Rocks Road in Granite City. Cleanup sites will then be assigned near each starting location. At the end of the cleanup, participants will regroup at the signup locations for a celebration and free lunch. Prizes will be awarded to volunteers who find the weirdest, biggest, and most expensive trash that morning.
Individual volunteers, civic groups and youth organizations are encouraged to volunteer. No experience is required. Volunteers will be provided a free t-shirt, bags, and gloves, courtesy of MSD.
“Volunteers should plan on working hard, having fun, getting wet and dirty, and leaving with the sense that they’ve contributed to the environment and to our local water quality in a very significant way,” said Dona Schuh-Anderson, project manager with MSD.
Municipalities in St. Louis County as well as the City of St. Louis are joining in the effort, which has removed over 61 tons of trash and scrap out of streams and neighborhoods in just four years. Along with Great Rivers Greenway, Trailnet, MSD, St. Louis City and County and all the communities that lie within the Missouri and Mississippi River Watersheds, other sponsors for the event include Missouri American Water, St. Louis Audubon Society, St. Louis County Department of Highways and Traffic, Missouri Stream Team, Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri River Relief, Missouri & Piasa Palisades Group of Sierra Club and Operation Clean Stream.
For more information, call Dona Schuh-Anderson at 314-436-8708, or visit www.stlmsd.com/educationoutreach/msdgreeninitiatives/streamcleanassistance
to register online as a volunteer for the Confluence Trash Bash.
About Great Rivers Greenway
Great Rivers Greenway was created by a vote of the people in 2000 with the goal of making the St. Louis region a better place to live. The public organization is carrying out the desires of the public by connecting an interconnected system of trails and greenways, designed to connect communities, provide transportation alternatives, preserve nature, improve health and increase the economic vitality of the region. Great Rivers Greenway includes St. Louis City and County and St. Charles County. For more information, visit www.grgstl.org.
For more information, contact:
Pamela Powell, The Hauser Group (314) 436-9090
Janet Wilding, Great Rivers Greenway (314) 932-4905