Volunteers make difference with Great River Road trash cleanup

May 11, 2015 9:30 AM

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James Greene and his friends have a passion for the environment and keeping the River Bend region the natural treasure it is to those here and afar.

On Saturday, Greene and others put their words into action and conducted a cleanup on a 20-mile stretch of the Great River Road, from Godfrey to Grafton. Greene coordinated the cleanup and many volunteered in support of the effort.

The 1Mississippi and the Piasa Palisades Sierra Club were partners in the cleanup.

“It brings you into a relationship with a place and is something a lot of people don’t have,” Greene said. “When you get a connection with a spot in your area, it just makes you think differently about your actions responsibilities and consequences of what you do.”

The volunteer crew started Saturday at the Piasa Bird area on the bluffs near Ardent Mills and worked west toward the Grafton Visitors Center.

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“The trash wasn’t as bad as I anticipated,” Greene said, which was encouraging. “We just broke it up with our volunteers by sections. There were probably 25-30 volunteers. I thought that was a great turnout considering it started to sprinkle around noon.”

The cleanup ran from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Before the cleanup began when volunteers met at the Piasa Harbor Pavilion in Godfrey. There were breakfast snacks and coffee offered, a talk on safety, and all trash bags and gloves were provided.

As a special addition, The Old Bakery Beer Company, of Alton, offered a free beer voucher for all those who participated in the cleanup. The organizers also provided free lunch at The Old Bakery Beer Company as well.

For more information and other volunteer opportunities, you can visit 1mississippi.org or sierraclubppg.org.