Little Coal River Cleanup Set for Saturday

JULIAN, W.Va. – Volunteers are needed for a tire and trash cleanup on the Little Coal River this Saturday in the Julian area – an area estimated to be littered with more than 400 tires.

One group of volunteers will be asked, starting at 10 a.m., to collect tires lying in the riverbed and along the banks of a one-mile stretch of the river between the Route 3 Julian Bridge and Horse Creek/White Road. This stretch of river is shallow – ankle-to-knee-deep – so the volunteers can walk and pull canoes to put the tires in. Members of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s Rehabilitation Environmental Action Plan (REAP) group, which will dispose of the tires and trash, will be on hand at this main collection area with canoes, john boats, gloves, trash bags, a winch and skid loader.

A second group of volunteers will take off downstream in kayaks and canoes from the Donald Kuhn Juvenile Center and will deposit trash and tires in marked drop-off points along the route. These volunteers are to drop off their boats at the Juvenile Center by 9:30 a.m. before parking their vehicles in the large parking lot at Little Coal River Road just past Water Ways. From there, they will be shuttled back to the Juvenile Center. Members of the Trash Your Kayak Coal River Cleanup Crew will be there to direct these volunteers.

It’s recommended that volunteers wear creek-wading shoes and old clothes. Also recommended is a change of clothes, a snack and some sort of tool – such as a shovel or mattock – that can be used to pry tires and other items out of the mud.

In addition to REAP and the Trash Your Kayak group, the event is sponsored by the Coal River Group and Authentic Adventures Watercraft Rentals.

To register to help out, or to get more information, call or text 304-543-2606 or email TrashYourKayak@Suddenlink.net. Be sure to ask about the prizes being offered! 
 
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