MRR-logo-color-WEB-200px

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.

The Big Muddy Clean Sweep crew headed downstream towards Boonville. 

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.

"Filthy City" by Patience Dorman. A bunch of random collected trash mimicking New York City's skyline. New York produceds over 12,000 tons of waste per day!

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.

Spooky season in full swing at the Jefferson City Cleanup! Photo by Tina Casagrand.

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.

Thank you to all the racers and supporters at our 5th Race to the Dome! Photo by Steve Schnarr.

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.

What a day with 160 students on the river! Photo by Alex Prentice

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.

Volunteers of all ages at the Octoberfest Trash Bash in Hermann! Photo by Tina Casagrand.

A Big Muddy Thank You To Our Event Sponsors:

Major Clean Sweep Sponsors

Local Clean Sweep Sponsors

Clean Sweep in the News

Articles, videos, blogs and more. Click here for a complete list of BMCS 2014 media.

Here's a few highlights -

"I thought you were going to have a barge again"

Due to circumstances out of our control, we are unable to use a barge for collecting our trash from this series of clean-ups. It makes things much more difficult but we are rolling on. We thank Hermann Sand & Gravel, AgriServices Brunswick and Gateway Dredging for all of your help and offers of help.

Ready for Action?

This website is created and maintained by Missouri River Relief, P.O. Box 463, Columbia, MO 65205
MRR is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Federal Tax ID (EIN) 03-0425187
© 2023 Missouri River Relief | Website development and design by Pixel Jam Digital
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram