Big Muddy Clean Sweep 2014

Brunswick, Jameson Island, Boonville, Cooper's Landing, Jefferson City, Hermann
Saturday, October 18th, 2014

The Big Muddy Clean Sweep is a wrap! With our final river clean-up in Hermann, MO, we finished our two month series of clean-ups and education events across the middle of Missouri.

The river threw us constant curveballs, with several events being revamped at the last minute by flood conditions. But as always, the Missouri River Relief staff and volunteer crew rolled with the punches and made each event a special one. 485 volunteers worked with on the Clean Sweep, removing 15.7 tons of trash from the Missouri River.

We also worked with area schools at all age levels, bringing river curriculum into the classroom and bringing students to the river. We worked with 553 students and teachers on topics ranging from river hydrology and engineering to wildlife and water quality.

Our general schedule for the Clean Sweep is below. Click each event for more details, results and photos.

Sept. 6 - Brunswick Missouri & Grand River Clean-up - 81 volunteers removed over 2 tons of junk from the confluence of the Grand and Missouri Rivers in this wonderful little town.

Sept. 13-15 - Crew Clean Sweep from Glasgow to Boonville - with the river at flood stage, our crew took three boats and filled them with trash from the Jameson Island and Lisbon Bottoms Units of the Big Muddy National Fish & Wildlife Refuge.

Boonville and New Franklin Education Days - Our education coordinator, Alex Prentice, brought the river into classrooms throughout Boonville and New Franklin. Teachers added on special "What the River Means To Me" projects for their kids. Check out photos of some of these here.

Sept. 20 - Boonville River Festival & Missouri River Clean-up - 200 volunteers removed 3.5 tons of trash from the river, then headed to the Isle of Capri for an outdoor River Festival with music, art, education and hands-on fun.

Sept. 27 - Cooper's Landing Trash Mob - A mini-mob of local friends - and the Blackwater Drifters adventure film crew - swept our local stretch of river clean.

October 4 - Jefferson City Missouri River Clean-up - Flooding mostly kept us off the river, but 105 volunteers still hit 5 other local rivers and streams to remove 3.3 tons of junk from the floodplain.

Oct. 11 - 5th annual Race to the Dome - 87 boats and 119 paddlers competed in this two stage race - either 16 miles from Hartsburg or 26 miles from Providence to Wilson Serenity Point (Jefferson City). The Race to the Dome is a benefit for Missouri River Relief.

Oct. 14 & 16 - 'Day on the River' Education Days, Hermann, MO - Again, flooding kept the students off the river, but we still worked with regional experts and local museums to provide a unique day of river and water education in historic Hermann for 160 students from Hermann and Owensville. Check out photos here.

Oct. 17 - Art Auction Fundraiser, McKittrick, MO - A beautiful evening at the restored McKittrick Farmer's Mercantile, we shared great local food, beautiful donated art and music from friends. The event raised over $4,000 for the Big Muddy Clean Sweep!

October 18 - Octoberfest Trash Bash in Hermann - We sent out volunteers in boats throughout the day to haul back boatloads of trash from this beautiful stretch of river.