August 25 Deadline to Volunteer for Lansing River Cleanup

Photo Credit: Rivertown Adventures

Volunteers are gathering next month on Saturday September 10^th from 9am-noon to clean-up the Red Cedar River, Grand River and Sycamore Creek.

The river clean-up event is being hosted by the Ingham Conservation District in conjunction with thirteen other local partners in the greater Lansing region including the Mid-Michigan Environmental Action Council, Friends of Lansing Regional Trails, Ingham County Parks, and many more. Lunch and equipment, including trash bags and a small number of boats, will be provided.

Volunteers will be removing litter from the riverbanks and collecting and properly disposing of trash and recyclables. Items removed during 2015 Red Cedar River clean-up event, hosted annually by the MSU Fisheries and Wildlife Club, included over 70 bikes, futons, a homemade boat, bike racks, constructions signs, 40 gallon drums, beer bottles, and a lawn mower.

“The Grand River and Red Cedar River are the most densely populated waterways in our county which is why we picked them,” said Michelle Beloskur, Executive Director of the Ingham Conservation District, “events such as the Lansing Rivers Clean-up aim to raise awareness about the health of our rivers and the areas that surround them, and give those of us who live nearby a chance to make a real difference.”

The most developed parts of the rivers will be targeted during the three-hour event. The event will kick off at the Lansing City Market, 325 City Market Drive, and from there volunteers will be broken into teams. The Ingham Conservation District is asking interested volunteers to register on their website at www.inghamconservation.com by August 25^th. Volunteers should dress for safety with close-toe shoes, long pants and long sleeves, and bring durable work gloves if available.

“The Lansing Rivers Clean-up is a separate event from the annual Lansing Adopt-a-River program, and is meant to be complementary and build on the success of the popular clean-up day,” said Beloskur, “one of the reasons we chose to hold this event in the fall is to give people an opportunity to give back to their community at a different time of year.”

More information about the Lansing Rivers Clean-up event can be found on the Ingham Conservation District website.

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