Record turnout for Flint River Cleanup!

Saturday, June 6, was the first Flint River cleanup of 2009. We had a record turnout! Final numbers aren't in yet, but a good guess is at least 90 people! FRCA teams had about 25 boats on the water, while Scott Ammons of North Alabama Canoe and Kayak provided 40 canoes for the event. Operation Green Team provided trash bags and other supplies. We had so many volunteers we were able to have groups clean five different sections of the river. Wow! Here are some pictures from a successful trip to keep our river clean! If you have additional pictures you'd like us to post, send them to flintriverconservation@gmail.com!

We basically took over a portion of the Publix parking lot as we got ready to go. Here are some of Scott's canoes:


Getting ready to put-in at the Hayes Nature Preserve:


Getting started. A few paddlers work on extracting trash from low-hanging vegetation. Notice how muddy the water is! That shows how much work still needs to be done to prevent excessive sedimentation in our waterways.


The Flint really is a lovely river.


The aftermath... here's the trash one group pulled out of the river:


And a nice group shot of some of our fabulous volunteers!

After a long day paddling and bagging trash, we were starving! Our friends at Artisan's Cove kindly provided a wonderful cookout for us in the afternoon. We all thoroughly enjoyed the food, the company, and looking around the Cove's gardens and chicken coops! Thanks!


Enjoying good food and company at Artisan's Cove:


Thank you to all of the volunteers who turned out to spend a productive day on the Flint River! An additional thanks to North Alabama Canoe and Kayak for providing so many canoes, Artisan's Cove for the wonderful food, the Huntsville Canoe Club for spreading the word and recruiting volunteers, and Operation Green Team for ongoing support of Flint River cleanups! Join us for our next river cleanup in September!

Flint River Cleanup June 6--mark your calendar!

Our annual spring cleaning of the Flint River is held in honor of the National American Rivers Week. On Saturday, June 6th, 2009, volunteers will meet at either the Publix parking lot in Hampton Cove or the Publix parking lot on Winchester Road. Our meeting place will depend on which part of the river we will clean. Please check back in mid May for final details! If you wish to join us, you can do so as a canoeist, a kayaker, or a landlubber. Our landlubbers like to keep their feet on terra firma, so they will clean up at the bridge crossings in groups. FRCA will have light snacks for all of our volunteers and we will have a BBQ cook out after the paddle! Please bring your own water. This is the first time in many years we have held a cook-out after a river cleanup, so come out to make this a splash to remember! If you'd like to join us, please call Soos Weber at 427-5116 or send an email to flintriverconservation@gmail.com by Wednesday, June 3rd so we can make sure we have enough canoes and food!

If you have any questions, just send an email to flintriverconservation@gmail.com.

Hope to see you on June 6!

Flint River Cleanup, Saturday Sept. 27

On Saturday, September 27th, people around the country will be helping with projects on local, state and federal public lands all over the country. For the 6th year (but our 10th year cleaning up the river), The Flint River Conservation Association and Operation Green Team will participate in National Public Lands Day on the Flint River—a navigable river by canoe and as such is “waters of the U.S.”. We will meet at 8:45 in the morning to canoe a lower segment of the Flint River. Participants can bring their own canoes or rent one for $10 per seat ($20 per canoe). River shoes, sunscreen, hats, and sunglasses are a must, and we will provide snacks, trash bags, and drinks.

You can register by calling Soos Weber at 427-5116 by 9 a.m. on the morning of Friday September 26th. Landlubbers (those who don’t have canoeing experience) can clean up at designated bridge crossings where people carelessly toss out trash, hoping to hit the River. Children are certainly welcome!

Here are some photos from a previous cleanup:

Flint River Cleanup a Success!

The river cleanup on June 7 featured 53 volunteers pulling trash from the river. It was a very successful day! Please plan to join us in September for our fall cleanup. We'll post the date here as soon as we know when it will be. Here are some pictures from the June 7 cleanup:

Getting all of the canoes and kayaks into the river:


Getting started:


Allison and her canoe partner recovering from tipping over:

Some of the resulting trash:

Flint River Cleanup, Saturday June 7

Please join us for a day on the Flint! We'll meet Saturday, June 7 at 9:00 am at the Publix in Hampton Cove, off of highway 431 S. Just look for cars with canoes! If you don't have a canoe, you can still join us! Just let Soos Weber know you would like to borrow a canoe and we'll set you up! Please call soon so we can figure out how many canoes to rent. Call Soos at 256-427-5116 to sign up. If she doesn't answer, leave a message that includes how many people are in your group and how many canoes you need to borrow.