Community members give thanks to the Rivanna, remove over 75 bags of trash

Media Releases

Environment Virginia

Charlottesville, VA- As Thanksgiving approaches, over 40 community members gathered in Charlottesville to get their hands dirty and show just how much they value the Rivanna.

After receiving notification of trash located on the banks of Meadow Creek, a tributary of the Rivanna River, Rivanna Conservation Society, Environment Virginia, and UVa Sustainability teamed up to take action. This serves as the final event of 2014 in the “Go X-Stream Rivanna River” cleanup series created by Rivanna Conservation Society.

More than 40 volunteers met in the Charlottesville K-mart parking lot at 10 am to split off into 5 groups and head down to Meadow Creek. Working busily until 11:30 am, over 75 bags of trash were collected for proper disposal. This year, similar cleanups in Charlottesville have removed over one thousand pounds of trash and one hundred tires from the Rivanna and its tributaries.

“Collectively we got more than 75 bags of trash as well as bikes, dozens of shopping carts, and two televisions,” summarized Robbi Savage, Executive Director of Rivanna Conservation Society. “It’s very frustrating to live in a community that is so environmentally conscious, yet needs young people and volunteers to come out and clean up after others.”

This morning’s Meadow Creek cleanup comes not only in time to give thanks to the Rivanna, but also one day after the close of the public comment period for the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule to restore Clean Water Act protections to all of Virginia’s waterways. Nearly a decade ago, polluters and developers secured a loophole in the Clean Water Act that leaves over 28,000 miles of rivers and streams in Virginia vulnerable to unchecked pollution.

“Though the Rivanna River is protected under the Clean Water Act, many of the creeks and streams that feed it are not,” said Jessie Mehrhoff, Clean Water Organizer with Environment Virginia. “By cleaning up the Meadow Creek tributary today, the Charlottesville residents are actively sending the message that we need to protect all of the waterways that flow into the treasured Rivanna.”

Joining the volunteers at the end of the cleanup was Charlottesville Councilwoman Kristin Szakos. “When we look at what Meadow Creek drains into, the Rivanna River and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay, it becomes evidently important that we not have this trash in our watershed,” remarked Councilwoman Szakos. “The fact that you are all here not only protects Charlottesville local parks, but our broader watershed and our environment.”

A true demonstration of teamwork, today’s cleanup of a Rivanna River tributary shows that Charlottesville’s beloved waterways have a strong ability to bring together community members of all ages. “My goal is to someday host a cleanup where there will be nothing to pick up,” said Savage.

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Rivanna Conservation Society is a Charlottesville non-profit organization that aims to safeguard the ecological, recreational, historical, cultural and scenic resources of the Rivanna River and its tributaries.

Environment Virginia is a statewide, citizen-based advocacy group working for the places we love and the environmental values we share.

University of Virginia Sustainability serves to promote the well-being of the community, solve local and global challenges through research and practice, educate ethical leaders, and steward this special place.