Locals Team Up To Clean Calfkiller River Saturday

The White County Litter Grant Program is teaming up with local businesses to clean up trash from the Calfkiller River.

This weekend’s clean-up will focus on the northern portion of the river. White County Litter Grant Administrator and Executive Assistant Brooke Luna said the river provides a lot to the community.

“Events like this its really dedicated to preserving the natural beauty and the ecological health you know of the Calfkiller River,” Luna said. “As it’s a vital waterway that winds through the heart of our community.”

This is the second year in a row that the program and its partners are cleaning up the river. Visit the Calfkiller River Cleanup Day Facebook page to get more information on Saturday’s cleanup.

Luna said the amount of traffic produces a majority of the trash.

“There’s a lot of kayakers that come through you know on the Calfkiller,” Luna said. “and then highway 111 passes over the Calfkiller, you know so debris is all the time flying out of vehicles, large trucks, and things such as that.”

The litter grant is some $44,000 from T-DOT and is given to clean up areas in White County. The program has partnered with Sunseeker Outfitters and Jackson Kayak to do the cleanup. As important, Luna said there are ways for people to prevent littering on the river.

“For one by not throwing trash out their window,” Luna said. “Keeping that until they get home and throw away in their own garbage, but also people that are traveling with garbage in the back of their vehicle to make sure that its secured, or people that are traveling with loads that are not tarped make sure they are tarping those loads as well, people on the river take a bag with you that way you can put your trash in.”

Luna said the cleanup will be a kayak voyage starting from Carter Street Park. The pickup will have a riverbank cleanup crew for people who want to help but don’t want to kayak. Luna said there is a Google form for volunteers to fill out.

The pickup will begin at 9:00am.