The Willamette Riverkeepers recently kicked off a six-week campaign called “Spring For Your River Clean up,” which began the weekend of April 24 and will conclude June 6. Spring For Your River Clean up is a call to action for locals to volunteer and help maintain the integrity of the Willamette River. Volunteers will be collecting trash, debris and clearing abandoned campsites sites along the entire 187-mile river. There are various cleaning party locations that can be found on the official Willamette Riverkeeper website.
The Willamette Riverkeeper is a nonprofit organization that got its start in Portland, Oregon in 1996. Their goal is to protect the river’s health and wildlife, to restore its natural beauty and to enjoy the recreational activities it offers.
The Torch spoke with Michelle Emmons, a Willamette Riverkeeper employee.
“I work in the Southern Willamette basin from Corvallis on up to the headwaters. So we’ve got about 17 locations within the scope of that part of the watershed,” Emmons said. To maximize their efforts, the organization often teams up with others such as watershed councils and parks and recreation groups.
Emmons explained that the new mission is a model born out of COVID pandemic restrictions to maintain distance and avoid large gatherings. “‘Spring for Your River Clean Up’ campaign is funded by a Travel Oregon Destination Ready Grant and Willamette Valley Visitors Association is a direct partner in helping us to administer this grant across the Willamette watershed to hold Spring for Your River events, purchase necessary supplies and provide water safety equipment,” she said.
Prior to 2020 there was “The Great Willamette River Clean Up,” which was the primary event for this sort of large scale collective action. It is usually a single day event that occurs annually in October. “We typically have somewhere between 800-1200 people throughout the basin come to the river to join these efforts,” Emmons said. “Last year, we had almost 600 people come out over the course of the month of October during the Great Willamette Clean up.”
“Spring For Your River Clean Up” is the first clean up that takes place during spring. Willamette Riverkeeper found that the pandemic has caused an increase in river camping among the homeless population. This event is meant to take on the increased debris left behind to prepare the river for Summer activities.
Emmons stressed that it is not solely the homeless who generate trash along the body of water, recreational users are just as responsible. She went on to state that there’s an intersection here between humanitarian and environmental issues that are being caused by a combination of local housing problems and climate change.
At the April 24 inaugural clean up at Eugene’s Alton Baker Park, Kelsey Irvine from Eugene Parks and Open Space oversaw the cleanup process with about 10 people who showed up; an ideal census for them to maintain social distancing.
Volunteers picked up and bagged—among many other items—loose batteries, a Scooby-Doo DVD, cigarette butts, broken glass, electric cords, soggy books and a hoolahoop.
Emmons later reported that the organization has been tracking themselves for the Upper Willamette, Corvallis/Albany, and Eugene-Springfield areas. In 2019 their records show volunteers collected 197.5 yards of trash and 796 needles. In 2020, that number increased to 216 yards of trash and 894 needles.
Emmons said that anyone who is interested can help by simply doing it on their own or with some friends and a few trash bags. They can also check the organization’s website or social media accounts for upcoming events to join in their area.
