Deschutes River Clean-Up

When:
July 29, 2017 @ 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
2017-07-29T09:00:00-07:00
2017-07-29T13:00:00-07:00
Where:
Riverbend Park
799 SW Columbia St
Bend, OR 97702
USA
Cost:
Free
Contact:
Kolleen Miller
541-382-6103

What: 21st Annual Deschutes River Clean-Up
Who: The Upper Deschutes Watershed Council, Local Business Partners, and Community Volunteers
When: 9am to 1pm on Saturday, July 29, 2017
Where: Volunteers will meet at Riverbend Park. River clean-up activities will take place in the Deschutes River and along its riparian areas between Farewell Bend Park and Tumalo Creek Kayak and Canoe.

The Deschutes River Clean-Up is a special day for watershed stewards of all ages to give back to the river. This year marks the 21st annual River Clean-Up! The Upper Deschutes Watershed Council coordinates the Deschutes River Clean-Up each year to engage business partners, river users, and community members in hands-on stewardship activities on the Deschutes River. On July 29th, we will work with volunteers to remove harmful weeds and instream debris and clean-up litter along the Deschutes River. Recreation use of the river has increased dramatically over the past few years and, unfortunately, so too has the amount of debris that ends up in the river. Approximately 160,000 people now float the river through Bend every summer. According to Kolleen Miller, the Education Director for the Watershed Council, “When I first started coordinating the river clean-up many years ago we were mainly removing relic mill debris from the river. Now, we are removing bags and bags of cell phones, flip flops, GoPros, wallets, bikes, and hundreds of bottles out of the river. It is our goal to coordinate the river clean-up to remove the garbage from the river but, more importantly, raise awareness about the problem so that the garbage stops ending up in there in the first place.”

The Deschutes River Clean-Up strives to help volunteers develop a sense of stewardship as they learn about, and contribute to, the health of the Deschutes watershed. This is an annual event coordinated by the Watershed Council to keep our river beautiful and protect water quality for fish and wildlife.

Sponsors: This year’s Title Sponsors include the City of Bend, Ten Barrel Brewing, Bend Parks and Recreation District and the Central Oregon Dive Shop. A big thank you to all sponsors and partners for making the Deschutes River Clean-Up possible!! #enjoyprotectrespect

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