by Ashtin Barker
Over 100 Athens volunteers will gather at Dudley Park early in the morning on Oct. 21 for the annual Rivers Alive cleanup event. Volunteer groups will disperse after the kickoff at 8:30 a.m. and spend the day collecting waste from the North Oconee River, Middle Oconee River and surrounding streams.
Rivers Alive is a statewide program created in 1999 to combine several cleanup efforts in Georgia into one unified river cleanup. Several Athens-Clarke County Unified Government offices organize the cleanup, including Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful.
“Taking care of the environment in your own community is just really important,” said Stacy Smith, the program education specialist at Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful.
Smith said this event is a great way for the community to ensure cleaner water sources, and also make recreational spaces in Athens more beautiful. Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful committee members look at the 16 sites months in advance to determine if there is enough litter for volunteers to pick up, if it’s safe and if it’s accessible.
All registered volunteers receive an email before the event informing them of what they need to come prepared with. The kickoff at Dudley Park will provide a T-shirt and breakfast, and volunteers will be equipped with cleaning tools and neon vests.
The Rivers Alive cleanup event has happened in Athens for 25 years. Jackie Sherry, the water conservation coordinator in the Public Utilities Department of Athens-Clarke County Unified Government, said volunteer numbers dipped since the coronavirus pandemic, but they are building back up.
Sherry has organized the event for six years, and this year the committee of organizers have added water quality monitoring and storm drain decaling to the list of volunteer activities at Rivers Alive.
“It’s very inspiring to see how many people come out and want to help,” Sherry said.
Topics: North Oconee River, pollution, river cleanup, volunteers
Why I Wrote the Story:
My beat covers a variety of different topics in Athens culture and life. The Rivers Alive cleanup is an event centered around community building and sustainability, two very important things in day-to-day life. Writing this preview helped get the word out about this volunteer opportunity and spread hope to people in the Athens-Clarke County area. People want to know that their neighbors care about things like litter and waste management, as well as keeping public parks and waterways clean.