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A little reason to celebrate

National River Cleanup Day

Nature · The third Saturday in May

A day for picking up litter along rivers, creeks and streams, and for getting to know the water that runs through your own town.

National River Cleanup Day falls on Saturday, May 15, 2027. That is 200 days away.

A river collects whatever the land sends it. Rain carries bottles, bags and food wrappers off streets and into storm drains, and many of those drains empty straight into the nearest creek. National River Cleanup Day, held on the third Saturday in May, asks people to go down to the bank and pick some of it back up.

The work is simple. People walk the shoreline with gloves and a bag, fishing out cans from the reeds and plastic from the roots of trees. Some groups work from canoes or kayaks, reaching the snags that can't be reached from land. Others stay on bridges and trails, where litter tends to gather before the water takes it.

A cleanup is also a slow way to see a river. You notice where the current bends and drops what it carries, which banks are steep and which are muddy, where the herons stand. Many people come back from a morning of picking up trash knowing their local stream better than they did after years of driving over it.

Local parks departments, watershed groups and paddling clubs often organize cleanups, supplying bags and arranging pickup for what's collected. Joining one is easier than working alone, since someone has already figured out where the trash goes afterward.

The odd finds are part of it. Tires, shopping carts and lone shoes turn up often enough that some crews keep a running list.

Ways to celebrate

• Join a river or creek cleanup organized by a local park or group.
• Walk a nearby stream bank with gloves and a bag for litter.
• Look up which waterway your neighborhood storm drains flow into.
• Paddle a calm stretch of river and note what wildlife you see.
• Share photos of your cleanup haul to encourage neighbors to help.

Dates

Categories: Nature days