It’ll be smooth sailing on the Willamette River after this Saturday, Oct. 4, when hundreds of volunteers are gathering at various points along the river for a massive cleanup effort that spans nearly three miles between Springfield and Eugene.
The UO Outdoor Program is able to send around 30 volunteers from the university community to the sixth annual Great Willamette Clean Up, although more than 50 expressed interest in the event.
“We’re plugging into a larger project, and we’ve done it for several years,” said Laughton Elliott-DeAngelis, the service projects coordinator for the outdoor program. “We’ll have at least six boats out there this weekend, but there will be many more efforts on the shore and on other places around the river.”
The program’s volunteers will be joining hundreds of others from the Willamette Riverkeeper program, which is establishing numerous sites throughout the southern Willamette Valley this weekend where volunteers can help clean the river.
“Last year we found a shopping cart in the water, still piled with so many random things,” said Elliott-DeAngelis. “So much trash is taken out of there.”
The UO is organizing a separate cleanup of its riverfront property as well. Information on that effort is available here.
The process of cleaning up the river is well worth the time and effort, Elliot-DeAngelis said. Students, along with residents of Eugene, Springfield and encampments along the water can continue to enjoy a clean and regularly maintained river.
“The communities that live along the river are extremely helpful to us,” said Elliott-DeAngelis. “It feels great to be able to help and have them be so enthusiastic about their environment.”
Volunteers from the UO will be floating and cleaning about two miles of the Willamette River. Launch is at 8 a.m. at Alton Baker Park and take-out is at the city of Eugene River House by noon. After the cleanup is a celebration and lunch at Alton Baker Park at 1 p.m. with food and live music.
Although registration through the UO Outdoor Program is nearly full, you can register through the Willamette Riverkeeper site.
—By Nathaniel Brown, Public Affairs Communications intern