Local citizens are banding together to tackle litter in The Bear Creek River, as part of National River Cleanup®. OSPIRG will conduct a river cleanup with the help of roughly 15 volunteers on Saturday, November 23rd.
OSPIRG Students is the state’s oldest student-directed and funded nonprofit started in 1971. We train students to be effective activists and take action for a change. Since our start, we’ve done everything from making Oregon the first state to kick dirty coal to protecting 2.6 billion dollars of the Pell Grant. Last year we held a press conference on a statewide ban on foam cups and take-out containers, along with our work to save the bees and to make textbooks free and affordable. Our lead campaign this term is continuing our work to ban polystyrene foam containers. Every year, people throw away 185 pounds of plastic which ends up in our rivers and oceans where it kills wildlife such as sea turtles. Less than 2% of expanded polystyrene foam, is recycled. The solution is clear, we need to ban this stuff! So far only Maryland and Maine have banned expanded polystyrene, and we’re working to make Oregon the first state on the west coast.
OSPIRG is dedicated to protecting our local parks and rivers because a healthy community starts with a healthy environment. Clean rivers provide everything from clean drinking water to recreation opportunities to fish and wildlife habitat.
American Rivers’ National River Cleanup® is a series of nationwide community-based river and stream cleanups. This popular annual event raises awareness about the need for healthy rivers and is a great opportunity for civic engagement. OSPIRG students will be participating alongside thousands of volunteers to cleanup across the country and remove trash from local waterways. Learn more about National River Cleanup® at www.AmericanRivers.org/Cleanup.
“Rivers connect us to each other, to nature, and to future generations. It is wonderful to see so many people in the Medford-Ashland area and across the country taking action to protect and restore their rivers and clean water,” said Bob Irvin, President of American Rivers. “We applaud the work of OSPIRG students for the work they do on behalf of the river and the community.”
The clean-up will be held at bear creek park but as most of the volunteers are students from Southern Oregon University, a carpool has been arranged to leave from the Stevenson Union on campus at 9:45am. The clean-up will be this Saturday, November 23rd. We will have food donated from a variety of local businesses to feed our volunteers, a special thanks to all. You can get involved by calling Rowan Canyon, the organizer of the river clean up, at 808.683.6360.
For more information on river cleanups happening throughout the watershed, around the state or across the country, visit: www.AmericanRivers.org/Cleanup.
