Pictured above: A proud group of volunteers at Valley View in Milford standing over their litter bounty.
The morning was cool, windy, and cloudy but the sun soon came out to help this year’s Riversweep volunteers on Saturday, April 26, for a spring cleaning in the East Fork watershed. Nearly 200 volunteers turned out for the 16th Annual East Fork Riversweep, including families, area students, scout troops, 4-H clubs, local businesses and the Batavia Rotary Club. Hard working crews cleaned up over 15 miles of streambank and shoreline at Valley View in Milford, East Fork State Park and Stonelick State Park, and along two stretches of the East Fork mainstem; collecting a Riversweep record 567 bags of trash, 103 tires, six (55 gallon) metal drums, two election campaign signs, three large wooden cable spools, ten foot section of guard rail, eight lawn chairs, water heater, and other miscellaneous debris. To view photo highlights of this event, visit eastforkwatershed.org and click on “Riversweep.”
For their efforts, volunteers were provided morning snacks and lunch, and received Riversweep t-shirts. Volunteers also received the satisfaction of helping to make their watershed safer and more beautiful.
Special thanks go to the numerous organizations and businesses that provided donations and incredible support to the Riversweep! Please join us in expressing thanks to Loveland Canoe and Kayak, ODNR-Scenic Rivers Program, Cincinnati Nature Center, Rivers Unlimited, Buckeye United Fly Fisherman (BUFF), Grassy Run Historical Society, Stantec Engineers Inc., Milford Tech Park, and Clermont Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) for their donations of food, supplies, river access, and canoes for the Sweep. This event was partially funded by a grant received from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Recycling and Litter Prevention. Special thanks to Mark Birkle for donating his time and skills to take wonderful photographs of the event.
This event would not have been possible without the support of, Clermont County Office of Environmental Quality, Adams-Clermont Solid Waste District, Clermont County Water and Sewer District and Clermont SWCD. Thanks to Valley View Foundation for feeding the masses at our Milford site, and ODNR State Parks staff for serving lunch at East Fork and Stonelick Parks. The staffs of East Fork State Park, Stonelick State Park, the Clermont County Park District, Clermont SWCD, and the Harsha Lake Army Corps Office did much of the behind-the-scenes work that allowed this event to be so successful. Thank you all.
Jason K. Brown,
East Fork Watershed Coordinator