Video: Produced by Melissa
Czarnik. Music by Eric Meyer. Copyright Friends
of Milwaukee's Rivers 2007.
Photographs by FMR Staff
By 8:00 am,
the crane was in place, ready to haul tons of garbage out of
the Kinnickinnic River and into two large dumpsters that
were waiting above, on First Street. By the end of the
day, two more dumpsters were needed. A total of
100,000 pounds of garbage was pulled from the river, setting
an all-time FMR record for pounds of trash removed at a
single cleanup site.
At the
beginning of the day, the riverbed was filled with trash of
all types, especially shopping carts and tires.
And of course,
a few bikes.
Volunteers arrived at 8:30
am, eager to start working. They pulled an estimated
50 shopping carts out of the river, along with tons of other
types of trash.
An innovative
method for transporting tires.
Volunteers of
all ages joined the cleanup.
Here the crane
is lowering a box that volunteers will fill with trash.
The trash will then be moved into a dumpster on the street
above.
Sierra Club's
Rosemary Wehnes and her flashy boots.
FMR employees
Melissa Czarnik and
Laura Maker avoided getting too dirty.
But not FMR
Riverkeeper Cheryl Nenn. She enjoyed the muck.
By the time
the cleanup was over, people were hungry. Susie fired
up the grill.
After a hard
day's work, volunteers enjoyed grilled sausages and hot
cocoa.
