Volunteers Needed for River Cleanup on Saturday

If you’re looking for a way to do your part to clean up the Fox River, the village’s Environmentally Conscious Oswego committee has a question for you: what are you doing on Saturday?

The committee has organized a river clean-up for Saturday at 10 a.m., and they’re looking for volunteers to help out. The clean-up will start at , off of Route 25, and will stretch downstream to . It will include the spot where Waubonsie Creek and the Fox River meet.

Volunteers will collect trash out of the river and off the shorelines and recycle or dispose of it, according to Michelle Bergeron, the village’s community relations coordinator. Workers on land will clean the public riverbanks, including the bike trails and parks.  

In addition to the land effort, the Prairie State Canoeists will lead the cleanup in the water, using their own canoes and kayaks to clean the water between the parks.

Outdoor accessories vendor REI will pitch in as well, providing needed tools and buying lunch for the volunteers. The clean-up will last until noon, and volunteers will meet at Hudson Crossing Park for lunch when it’s done.

The ECO will award a $25 prize for the most unusual item retrieved from the river.

Volunteers are encouraged to bring work gloves, long pants and mud boots. If you’re interested in helping the Prairie State Canoeists, you can sign up here. Car shift will be at 9:30 a.m. from the park on the west side of the Fox, downstream from the Montgomery Dam and upstream from the Mill Street Bridge, Bergeron said.

To volunteer for the land clean-up, or get more information, call the village’s community development department at 630-554-3622.