Please contact me if you need more information about volunteering for this event, or just show up and we will put you to work!
News
For Immediate Release
Information Contact:
Natalie Casey
Withrow Springs State Park
Interpreter
479-559-2593
natalie.casey@arkansas.gov
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Withrow Springs State Park Organizing War Eagle Creek Cleanup for October 6
Volunteers Needed to Help Keep War Eagle Creek Beautiful
Huntsville, AR (Aug. 31) – Volunteers are needed to participate in War Eagle Creek Cleanup on Saturday October 6, 2012. Hosted by Withrow Springs State Park with the support of Beaver Watershed Alliance, the cleanup is being held in conjunction with the Great Arkansas Cleanup (GAC), the annual fall statewide litter pickup campaign promoted by Keep Arkansas Beautiful (KAB), a state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful Inc. and a division of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. The Beaver Watershed Alliance was formed in 2010 to establish programming to maintain high quality drinking water in Beaver Lake and improve water quality on the Beaver Lake Watershed. The Alliance represents a diverse stakeholder group from conservation, education, water utilities, technical and science, business, and local government groups working together for the cause of clean water.
“Litter continues to be a problem in our area,” says Park Interpreter Natalie Casey of Withrow Springs State Park, local coordinator of this year’s cleanup. “It is illegal to litter. It can negatively affect our community’s potential to attract business, industry and tourism. It has a devastating effect on our water supply. It ruins the natural beauty of the byways, waterways and forests. We need to clean up litter and keep it off our roadsides and out of our waterways.”
Beaver Watershed Alliance and Withrow Springs State Park invite you to be a steward of an important part of our Ozarks heritage by participating in the War Eagle Creek Cleanup at Withrow Springs State Park. “War Eagle Creek gives life to our community as a home for wildlife, a place for recreation, a connection to nature, and a source of drinking water from Beaver Lake” reminds Park Interpreter Natalie Casey. “Learn about the importance of this waterway, witness its beauty, and improve the quality of our environment as we spend the afternoon cleaning up War Eagle Creek.” Arrive by 1 p.m. to participate in 4.6 mi. cleanup float (water level permitting); arrive between 3-4 pm for shorter section floats and other site assignments. Cleanup will take place until approximately 6 p.m., followed by a free cookout, information about stewardship and citizen science programs, and prize giveaways. At dusk, join us for "Bridge to War Eagle," a production of award-winning film makers Larry Foley and Dale Carpenter that documents the natural, historic, and cultural importance of War Eagle Creek. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets.
Everyone in the area is encouraged to participate in this year’s litter-pickup effort. Civic and service organizations, church and youth groups, school groups and clubs, scouts, individuals, families, neighborhoods, and businesses can put together cleanup teams and pitch in. If your team is able to help with this event, please contact Withrow Springs State Park for special assignments or instructions.
“Litter is everyone’s responsibility,” Casey says. “Although we aren’t all litterers, we do all live in this community together and must work together to keep it clean and green. We do this as a point of community pride, to maintain our outstanding quality of life and to improve our economic health.”
This year’s local cleanup is sponsored by Withrow Springs State Park, Madison County Solid Waste and Recycling Center, Beaver Watershed Alliance, Audubon Arkansas, Beaver Water District.
About the Great Arkansas Cleanup
The statewide kickoff date for the 2012 GAC is Sept. 8. Events are being organized across the state during September and October as part of the annual fall litter-pickup campaign. Last year, the GAC included 207 events across the state. More than 10,500 volunteers picked up almost 1 million pounds of litter and cleaned up nearly 800 miles of roadway, more than 200 parks and public areas, and 659 miles of shoreline. The volunteer-driven effort provided the state and participating communities a cost-saving value of more than $850,000.
The Great Arkansas Cleanup grew out of an effort that began more than 40 years ago as the Greers Ferry Lake and Little Red River Cleanup. In 1985, U.S. Sen. Dale Bumpers guided legislation requiring an annual pickup event during the weekend after Labor Day on all federal lands. This law, the Carl Garner Federal Lands Cleanup Act, honors the founder of the event. Mr. Garner continues his advocacy for a clean and litter-free environment as a member of the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Foundation board of directors. The first statewide GAC was organized in 1989.
The GAC is sponsored by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department and Keep America Beautiful Inc. Sponsors help provide needed cleanup supplies to GAC participants.
About Keep Arkansas Beautiful
As a certified state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful Inc., Keep Arkansas Beautiful works to inspire and educate individuals to reduce litter, recycle and keep Arkansas beautiful. It operates as a division of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism and is overseen by a nine-member commission appointed by the governor. KAB is funded by 1 percent of the eighth-cent conservation tax and, by utilizing volunteers, returns to the state a cost benefit of $6.02 in community service for each program dollar spent. For more information about KAB, call toll-free 888-742-8701, visit KeepArkansasBeautiful.com or stay connected at Facebook.com/KeepArkansasBeautiful or YouTube.com/DontLitterAR.
