2004 River Clean Up

The River Clean Up program utilizes the MN DNR’s Adopt-a-River program.  The Adopt-a-River program is similar to the Adopt-a-Highway program.  Volunteers donate their time to clean up a stretch of river or stream once or twice a year.

The River Clean Up program is a great outdoor activity that provides interaction with local residents, students and community groups.  2004 marked the first ever watershed-wide clean up day in the Crow River Watershed.  If you would like to help organize a clean up day for your community, please contact us!

On September 18, 2004, the first annual Crow River Watershed Wide Clean Up took place.  Citizens from surrounding communities came together at seven different cities across the watershed to help pick up garbage from the banks of the Crow River.  Clean up activities started at 8 a.m. and ran until Noon in each community.  Following the clean up, volunteers enjoyed lunch and admired their piles of trash and hard work. While this was the first ever watershed-wide clean up, it was the third year for the citizen groups of Rockford (Crow River Pride), Hanover (Hanover Area River Team - (HART) and Delano (Delano Dream Team).  Previous clean ups that have been organized by citizen groups in these communities inspired Diane Sander, coordinator of the Crow River Organization of Water (CROW) to try for a more regional clean up event.  “It seemed like the right time to expand the clean ups, and I knew there were other groups in the watershed that would be eager to help out their local communities and clean up a local resource at the same time”.  This was the first year that the St. Michael Area River Team (SMART) and the South Fork Crow River Association (SFCRA) participated in the event. 

Cities that participated in the clean up included Rockford, Delano, Hanover, St. Michael, Buffalo, Hutchinson, and Spicer.  Volunteers from Buffalo cleaned up around Buffalo Lake, not the Crow River.  The inclusion of lakes is important because it helps people to recognize that there is a connection between their lakes and the larger watershed as a whole. 

In total, the clean up resulted in the collection of over 9 tons of garbage including: plastic pop bottles, cans, fast food containers/wrappers, tires, furniture, appliances, motors, bikes, cans of spray paint, fishing poles, a vehicle seat, construction debris, water heaters, boat, balls, and a duck decoy.  Boy Scout Troops, Cub Scout Packs and students participating in the Jobs for MN Graduates program assisted with the clean up.

In addition to the many citizen volunteers that donated their time, local businesses also contributed to the event. Food and beverages were provided by Subway, Culligan, Cash Wise, Cub Foods, Gordy’s Foods, Big Store Grocery, New London Bakery and the Wright Soil and Water Conservation District. The volunteers received a T-shirt, provided through donations from 3M and the CROW  Trash bags and gloves were donated through the Department of Natural Resources Adopt a River Program.  Local Cities, Waste Management and Three Rivers Park District provided dumpsters and trash removal.