On Saturday, September 21st, over 30 volunteers came out to Lakeside Park in Fond du Lac to clean up our waters. Our annual Fox-Wolf Watershed Cleanup event is our largest cleanup event, and takes place near Earth Day every spring. With a remaining supply of cleanup tools and materials, we are able to coordinate smaller (mini) cleanup events throughout the year. This is the second mini cleanup coordinated by the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance. Lakeside Park is surrounded by water, with Lake Winnebago to the north, De Neveu Creek to the east, and the Fond du Lac river making up its western border. This mini watershed cleanup was one of many cleanups taking place around the globe as part of the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup! Volunteers started their morning with coffee, doughnuts, and hot chocolate before grabbing their supplies and heading out to clean up. All supplies were provided to volunteers.
In total, our volunteers cleaned up: 19 bags of trash, 7.5 bags of recycling, 292 plastic bags, 60 straws, 8 balloons, and 2 tires! Some interesting items that were found by our volunteers include a sweater, creepy doll head, dental picks, and bird’s nest constructed with plastic debris.
FWWA believes that the water resources of the Fox and Wolf River Basin are essential to the ecological and economic integrity of the region and the foundation of its quality of life. Participating in the Watershed Cleanup is one way that citizens can do their part for the water resources we all depend on. FWWA’s cleanup events help bring the community together to tackle litter in our watershed, and also offers the opportunity to highlight the issue further through the media and word of mouth.
Check out media coverage from Fox-11 and WBAY Channel 2.
