BRASELTON - A portion of the Mulberry River, street sides and the RiverWalk trail are far cleaner as a result of volunteers' work during the annual 'Rivers Alive' day in Braselton.<br />
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More than forty people donned boots, gloves and cleanup gear and spread across targeted river and stream corridors under the direction of joint leadership of: Braselton's environmental specialist Yvette Wise, Barrow County Stormwater director Matt Treeter and Roy and Tina McHaney who always help with the planning, participation and clean up in these events. This time they shared their tradition with their new grandson, James Hansen, the youngest volunteer at three months old who had his own t- shirt printed for the event!<br />
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Groups included 4-H members from Barrow County, Braselton Girl Scout troop 1630, a group of 7th grade boys from East Jackson Middle school, the Bain family & friends, Barrow County Commissioner Joe Goodman and his son Grant as well as many others who generously came out in the cold to help clean up.<br />
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"Our goal is to get new folks involved and raise a heightened awareness of water quality issues in our local watershed and environment," Wise says, "Our volunteers were terrific and, each year, participation grows." We always try to give away door prizes and serve lunch to everyone who participates. Our thanks to our many donors and sponsors, we were able to do that again."<br />
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Rivers Alive netted more than 470 pounds of trash and debris from the work sites. The next event is planned for early spring . Volunteers may reach Wise at
[email protected] .
