Getting Trashy on the Peace River

Below: Georgia Caruthers stands in front of bags of trash collected during the Peace River Cleanup.

Below: Shaun, Georgia and Bailey Caruthers relax for a minute during the cleanup.

Steve Partain picks up trash out of the river.

With the help of Keep Polk County Beautiful, we organized a cleanup at the Peace River on Saturday and it was a great success. We had 12 volunteers collect 21 bags of trash from the river and the canoe launch area at S.R. 60 in Bartow, as well as one tire and three chairs.

It was pretty rewarding to survey the area we had cleaned afterward and see it trash-free.

I always like to see the types of people who come out for cleanups. It was refreshing to see that one volunteer, Shaun Caruthers, brought his two daughters, Bailey and Georgia, to participate in the cleanup. What better way to teach your children about taking care of the environment than leading by example? As you can see by the pictures, little Georgia really got into the cleanup. She is muddy because she kept getting out of the canoe to pick up trash along the riverbank.

Heather Allerheiligen and Valerie Lebeau, who live in Winter Haven, volunteered even though they didn't have a canoe or kayak. Heather's e-mail to me expressing her interest in participating said this: "We do not have a boat to contribute but will be willing to help along the banks or onshore, which ever place you need us most. Please let me know if there is anything we can bring or do to help YOU out."

She meant it, too. These two young women picked up every piece of trash they could reach along the banks and in the parking area at the canoe launch. They stacked the filled bags of trash that we collected. They signed in volunteers who showed up after we hit the river. They kept a tally of everything we collected. The event simply wouldn't have run as smoothly as it did if not for them.

Everyone had a great time and indicated an interest in participating in Keep Polk County Beautiful's next Peace River cleanup scheduled for June. KPCB will provide kayaks and canoes for this cleanup, but volunteers who have their own always are encouraged to bring them. That way, we can accommodate more volunteers who want to help, but don't have a kayak or canoe.

I'll share more information on the June cleanup as I get it. Until then, please remember to do your part to keep Polk County beautiful by:

• Not littering
• Not throwing cigarette butts out your vehicle window
• If you see a piece of trash on the ground, pick it up
• Recycle what you can
• Become a KPCB volunteer

For more information on getting involved with Keep Polk County Beautiful, visit the organization's Web site or call 676-7019

Join Us for the Peace River Cleanup April 26

Great news! Since posting about our recent experience on the Peace River, I've been successful in putting together an impromptu cleanup on Saturday, April 26, 2008, from 9 a.m. until Noon. We will meet at the canoe launch on S.R. 60 in Bartow at 9 a.m.

Keep Polk County Beautiful will provide the trash bags, gloves, litter grabbers and water for the volunteers.

Daryl Stewart with the City of Bartow has agreed to provide a dumpster at the location so we can properly dispose of all the trash we collect.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office Environmental Crimes Unit will be on the river in their Go Devil to provide a safety briefing and to assist in getting collected trash up-river to the dumpster.

Finally and most importantly, I've already received e-mails from about six people who want to volunteer that morning.

To quote a line from Almost Famous, "It's all happening!"

If you have a jon boat, canoe or kayak and would like to help clean what we can of the Peace River on the 26th, please e-mail me by 5 p.m. on Monday, April 21: lorrie@lorriewalker.com. I will pick up the supplies on April 22.

Thank you to everyone who's agreed to volunteer so far, and thank you to KPCB, the Sheriff's Office and the City of Bartow for helping make this happen.