Annual cleanup purges Red Cedar of trash

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Spirits were high and water levels were even higher Saturday as volunteers attended the Red Cedar River Cleanup.

About 50 volunteers, working on sections of the river ranging from the Kellogg Center parking ramp to Hagadorn Road, pulled several bikes, as well as a futon, shopping cart and desktop computer, from the river.

Casey Koleski, a fisheries and wildlife junior and Red Cedar River Cleanup chairman, said the event was not about impacting the river’s quality, but rather cleaning up litter.

Some volunteers used rakes to search the water from the river’s banks, while others donned waiters or removed litter while in canoes.

Two large trash receptacles were on hand for volunteers to fill with items they pulled from the river.

Justin Miller, a fisheries and wildlife senior and president of the Fisheries and Wildlife Club, said he was satisfied with the volunteer turnout, although the MSU and Michigan football game may have deterred some volunteers.

Miller said the main aim of the cleanup was to change the perspectives of students, faculty and staff who have widely begun to view the river as too polluted and potentially dangerous.

“Microorganisms and sediments are always going to make the water a brown color,” he said.

“An older woman I was recently discussing the cleanup with actually said ‘You should turn the water blue!’ I told her this isn’t the library, we can’t just do that.”

After Friday’s rainfall, university officials limited the number of canoes volunteers had access to, as the river’s water levels were potentially dangerous.

The event, which was started by MSU’s Friends of the Red Cedar student organization in the late ’90s, was created to rid the river of the litter that distracted visitors from its beauty.

In fall 2006, the venture was passed on to MSU’s Fisheries and Wildlife Club, which has since made it an event held each fall and spring.

Patricia Thompson, a fisheries and wildlife senior and member of the RISE Environmental Studies Specialization program, said for her, the event is about aesthetic value and pride.

“It’s great at getting people outside and taking responsibility for such a great resource,” she said. “I think it’s a great tool to teach from.”

Treasures found in the river change each time they do the cleanup, but volunteers said they generally find 15-20 bicycles per event.

By 11:45 a.m. Saturday, three bikes had been excavated by canoes — one consumed by so much rust its spokes were missing — and another with air still in its tires.

Participants said volunteers sometimes take the usable bikes home, while others are thrown away.

Michelle Beloskur, a watershed technician with Ingham Conservation District, which sponsored the event, said she remembers volunteers finding a mo-ped scooter and a particularly funny Ozzy Osbourne cassette tape last spring.

“It is very satisfying when it’s all picked up and in a pile,” she said.

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