Volunteers clean Columbia creeks

Creek clean up events are held quarterly every year.

By Travis Cornejo

Published Oct. 17, 2009, last updated 6:32 p.m., Nov. 13, 2010

More than 300 volunteers showed up to the sixth annual Hinkson Clean Sweep on Saturday morning.

The clean sweep is an event where volunteers help clean Hinkson Creek. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources described a large section of the creek in a recent report as polluted by urban runoff.

“A lot of organizations are coming together to show they care about the creek and its tributaries,” said Scott Dye, National Sierra Club Water Sentinels director.

Dye said considering how the weather has been, the number of volunteers who registered was impressive, with 366 people signing up. About 125 were at one location, with twice as many at the other.

The two available locations to volunteer for were at Flat Branch Park on Fourth and Cherry streets and at Flat Branch Creek along the Martin Luther King trail head at Stadium.

According to the Web site for the event, volunteers were reassigned to either of the Flat Branch locations due to unsafe stream conditions at Hinkson and Bear creeks.

“We had to consolidate because of high water at the other locations,” Dye said.

Dye said there has been up to eight inches of rain recently at Hinkson Creek and Bear Creek. They have not rescheduled the clean up for those locations, but the events are held quarterly.

“We’ll be back again,” Dye said. “Probably not until the spring.”

Volunteers included local Columbia residents and various organizations, such as Phi Alpha Delta and Phi Sigma Pi.

Columbia resident Susan Gyaben said her family volunteered to help clean up planet earth.

“We want to show our son the importance of taking care of our environment,” she said.

Gyaben said she, her husband John and her 4-year-old son, Elliott, were using the day to spend time together as a family.

“We’re moving through the stream with our mud boots and bags, picking up trash,” Gyaben said.

Sophomore Jennifer Green and Senior CJ Restemayer were volunteering with other members of the Pre-Law fraternity, Phi Alpha Delta.

“We live here,” Green said. “We want to keep it clean.”

Green said she wanted to stay and help clean up until there were no cigarette butts left at Flat Branch Creek.

Restemayer said she just wants to help clean stuff up. She wants the creek to be enjoyable.

“Little kids are here,” Restemayer said. “We don’t want them to see this.”

To oversee efforts, site captains were appointed to guide volunteers throughout the day.

Missouri Stream Team Biologist Amy Meier said her responsibilities included making sure everyone was signed in, keeping things organized, handing out meal tickets and making sure people got T-shirts.

Sherrie Brown, of the Columbia Aquatic Restoration Program, was another site captain.

“It’s my responsibility to make sure everyone stays safe and within the guidelines,” Brown said.

Brown said the turnout was good and the event went well. She said it was sad it ended up being too dangerous to clean up at the other locations.

Although waters were high due to rain, Dye said the weather was good and it was great to see the sun shining.

“It’s such a beautiful day,” Gyaben said.