Friends of Pool 9 to host annual River Clean-Up Day this Saturday; Volunteers needed for variety of tasks
Friends of Pool 9 River Clean-Up Day is this Saturday ... Pictured above, Friends of Pool 9 volunteers collect wayward barrels and other items found on islands and floating in the river during a past River Clean-Up Day. Friends of Pool 9 is hosting its annual River Clean-Up Day this Saturday, April 12 and volunteers are needed to assist with a variety of tasks. Submitted photo.
The Friends of Pool 9 Annual River Clean-Up is scheduled for this Saturday, April 12 and volunteers of all ages are needed from 8 a.m. to 12 noon. Many families use this opportunity to pass on to their kids a love of taking care of the river so that they can enjoy its bounty for years to come.
Since this project began several years ago, Friends of Pool 9 volunteers have collected and removed more than 185,800 pounds (92.9 tons) of debris from the river and recorded over 10,560 hours of volunteer time to keep Pool 9 clean.
Primary registration will be held at the VFW river landing in Lansing (across from the ball diamond and below the VFW building), beginning at 8 a.m. Other sites are listed below. Assigned tasks range from walking the State boat landing and river banks to riding in a boat to clean islands and sandbars.
Boats are always needed. Persons using their boats must have liability insurance coverage. At registration, volunteers will be provided with gloves, water, and collection bags. They will be asked to sign a liability waiver.
This is also an opportunity to learn more about Friends of Pool 9. Participants may also sign up to join the organization. Membership is free if they wish to join the effort to keep the river clean and protected. Members receive a newsletter; timely information about projects and an opportunity to join other members at the annual meeting/dinner in the fall. Members earn points toward award pins for hours worked during the year.
Trash collection efforts and additional registration sites will be located at:
• Army Road Landing, New Albin
• VFW Shoreline, Lansing
• Blackhawk Park Landing
• Ferryville Village Boat Landing.
For questions/information and signing up, contact:
• New Albin - Jim Erbe, 563-419-1085
• De Soto - Jerry Boardman, 563-419-7968
• Ferryville - Larry Quamme, 950-948-2245
• Lansing - Alex Galema, 563-568-7294
• Genoa/Blackhawk Park - Bruce Kilmer, 608-778-1336
• Decorah Sue English 563-379-1129.
