It's been 4 years since we've worked the original Missouri State Capitol in the "Little Hills", and our Missouri River Clean-up in the St. Charles & Bridgeton area couldn't have been better!
Well, I guess it could have been a little less muddy, but all the better to get down & dirty with! As the remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine drizzled and then drenched us in the overnight hours, the storm clouds gave way to a gorgeous sunrise, and the cloud cover kept this early morning clean-up nice and cool.
268 hearty volunteers showed up bright & early as 11 boat crews prepared to ferry them to pre-determined sites. Volunteer groups who made up a good chunk of attendees included: Lindbergh Highschool Anatomy Class, Francis Howell Highschool Green Community, B-FAB Society, Washington University's Alpha Phi Omega, LMI Aerospace, Scout Troops 4334, 975, 1413, 607, Pack 850/Den 3, DHC Global Forwarding, Mid Rivers Ethical Society, Kingdom House Youth Group, River Des Peres Watershed Coalition and Missouri Master Naturalists.
Thanks to all these great volunteers, we were able to remove 7 tons of muddy river trash! In the afternoon, a small group of folks stayed to help sort through the muddy mess and recycle 1.09 tons of what was collected in just less than 3 hours in the morning.
Our hats are off to the kind folks at the Lewis & Clark Boathouse who let us camp in their back yard along the scenic riverfront. Alongside a wonderful campsite, the Trailhead Brewery provided a great dinner Saturday night for the River Relief crew to feast on. Many heartfelt thanks go out to all of our Clean-up Sponsors and Partners! Thanks for welcoming us back to this lovely old city.
240 55-gallon Bags of Trash
107 Tires
6 Chunks O’ Styrofoam
½ of a Buoy
12 five-gallon Plastic Buckets
3 five-gallon Metal Buckets
3 55-gallon Metal Drums
3 55-gallon Plastic Barrels
5 Refrigerators
1 Washing Machine
1 Chest Freezer
2 5-gallon Propane Tanks
20+ small Propane Tanks
1 Refrigerator Door
1 Ice Machine
1 Toilet Tank
1 Vacuum Cleaner Hose
1 Baby Bed
333 Yards of Carpet
3 Folding Chairs
2 Gas Cans
1 7-foot Bench
1 Table Top
3 Gas Tanks
2 Mud Flaps
1 Truck Grill
1 Truck Fender (Blue Ford F150)
2 Tail Pipes
1 Axle & Differential
1 Torque Converter
1 Bumper Plate
1 Side Mirror
2 Volley Balls
1 Basket Ball
1 Slolam Ski
100 feet Heavy Wire Cable
1 Heavy Chain
1 Furniture Panel
1 Compressor
1 Refrigerator Shelf
1 Oil Can
1 part of a Deck
1 Fire Extinguisher
1 Ammunition Box
1 Curtain Rod
17 pieces of Rebar
8 pieces of Angle Iron
1 TV Panel
1 42” Flat Screen TV w/ Castors
2 Square Lattice Baskets
1 Deer Head (from a target)
2 Trash Dumpster Lids
1 Landscaping Rim
12 feet of Natural Gas Line
1 Culvert Pipe1
1 MDC “End of Public Use Area” Sign
1 “Caution Wet Floor” Sign
1 Huskers Sign
2 Messages in a Bottle
1 Red Plastic Apple
1 Rubber Ducky – yellow
1 Bocce Ball
2 1-gallon Glass Jugs
2 Enameled Cast Iron Skillet
1 Butcher Knife
1 Dust Mask
1 Naked Baby Doll
Media
Total Volunteers: 268
Total Trash Tonnage: 7 tons
Stream Teams: 1875, 3176, 211, 500, 1782, 509, 4136, 3668, 3419, 3500, 509 + Francis Howell North & the Crawford Crawdaddies
Groups Participating: Lindbergh Highschool Anatomy Class, Francis Howell Highschool Green Community, B-FAB, Alpha Phi Omega (Washington University and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville) , LMI Aerospace, Scout Troops 4334, 975, 1413, 607, Pack 850/Den 3, DHC Global Forwarding, Mid Rivers Ethical Society, Kingdom House Youth Group, River Des Peres Watershed Coalition, Missouri Master Naturalists
Fun Team Names: River Hippies, Trashinators, Troop 975, River Otters, Refrigerators, Trash Busters, Muddy Buddies, Crazy Catfish, The A Team, Bull Sharks, Mud Runners, The Partridges, (Blue, Bleu, Blew), Goon Squad, Ram Rod, Mud Doggers, Weeblos Ponies, Ethica/Waters, Troop 4334, APO, Bad Asses, Rock Stars, Team Unicycle
Great Rivers Greenway District
Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation
Missouri Department of Conservation
US Fish & Wildlife Service (Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office)
