River cleanup effort brings community together for environmental cause

Published 1:00 pm Sunday, September 13, 2015

Whether kayaking, swimming, floating or just sitting on the banks, the portion of the Oconee River that passes through Milledgeville is used often and by many. In order to maintain the cleanliness of both the land around the water and the water itself, several groups sponsor cleanup events throughout the year.

One of the prominent groups that provide these volunteer opportunities is Keep Milledgeville-Baldwin County Beautiful. KMBB is a non-profit organization that is Milledgeville’s affiliate of Keep America Beautiful. According to Keep America Beautiful’s website, its mission is “engaging individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community’s environment.” Enhancing the environment and keeping the natural places clean have been goals of KMBB.

“Specifically, Keep Milledgeville-Baldwin Beautiful focuses on litter prevention and proper waste management education, encouraging people to recycle and to prevent litter from ever getting put either in your yard, on the side of the road or in the river,” director of KMBB, Andy Davis, said.

Along with keeping residents educated and providing ways to properly dispose of trash, individuals can volunteer to help clean up the river on Sept. 19.

“We have two main options, which are that you can show up to help out on foot or you can show up to help out in a boat,” Davis said. “Those who don’t have a boat, we certainly can use your help as well. We will put out on foot spreading out across the phase one and phase two of the Oconee River Greenway. We will have some volunteers venturing out Fishing Creek and Tanyard Creek to pull out things like glass bottles, plastic bottles, cans, and there’s often a lot of tires in the creeks and in the river. Similarly, the people in the boats are going to make their way down from the Greenway at the river bridge, four and half miles down to the Central State boat landing and picking up litter along the way.”

Clean up days are important for not only the environment at the river, but also for the community.

“But, I think equally as important as the physical affect that we are having on the environment, it’s very important to include people in efforts like this. It increases the sense of ownership. If you’ve never gone down the river at all, it’s a beautiful river to be able to go down, but there’s plenty of people that have gone down it that haven’t been able to participate in the river cleanup, but once you are able to do that [the cleanup], every time you go down after that, you just have this good feeling that you helped make it that way.”

Without volunteers and a community desire from residents who the environment to be cleaner, events like the river cleanup would not be possible. These events bring community members together to establish connections and bonds all the while participating in a good cause.

“Having a sense of ownership is important in any town,” Davis said. “You take care of your yard when you’re at home, so we as a community need to take care of our environment. It’s also a sense of pride. For businesses that may be interested in moving to Milledgeville Baldwin County, it shows that we care about the appearance and overall health of our environment, which makes it more attractive for people to move here and for businesses to move here.”

Along with volunteering, people or organizations can donate to KMBB so that more events like the clean up can happen. The Sept. 19 cleanup starts at 8:30 a.m. Volunteers should arrive at the Greenway wearing appropriate clothing and sturdy shoes.