DE PERE (NBC 26) — The NFL Green Team partnered with the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance to organize a trash pick up event on Earth Day.
- Meet some of the volunteers who spent two hours gathering litter along the Fox River Tuesday
- Another river clean-up event is happening May 3 through the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance
- Hear why litter is not the biggest issue in terms of pollution along the Fox River
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
Along the Fox River on Earth Day volunteers gave up their time to help make the Fox River look its best before the NFL Draft comes to town. I'm Pari Apostolakos in De Pere where I learned how folks at home can help keep our waterways clean.
Watch Pari Apostolakos' full broadcast story below:
Sisters Jackie Vandehey and Betty Zondag made their way to De Pere from Kaukauna to help pick up trash along the Fox River.
"We live on the fox and it needs more work," Zondag said.
"I have never done anything like this before, so I thought I could give back a little of my time," Vandehey said.
Also among the 80 or so volunteers along the river on Earth Day was Richie Gold and his coworkers.
"We saw the opportunity to come clean up the river before we get to show it off to the world," Gold said.
After about two hours of work, the crew at the Bomier Boat Launch fished out bags of trash, a metal pipe and a plastic chair from the river.
But Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance Executive Director Jessica Schultz says litter isn't the major problem when it comes to pollution in the Fox.
"What our river and what our bay is polluted with right now is more natural things," Schultz said. "Like phosphorous, which comes from grass clippings and leaves, and sediment. Which is essentially just dirt that runs off of our landscape into our waterways."
Schultz said events like this one, in partnership with the NFL Green Team help the Watershed Alliance educate people about how to keep that pollution out of the river, like sweeping grass clippings off sidewalks and picking up pet waste to keep the waterways a healthy habitat for wildlife.
"It's wonderful to have eagles to watch in the back yard," Zondag said when I asked what she loved most about living on the Fox.
"The Fox River and the bay of Green Bay are important to who we are as a community," Schultz said. "Everyone can do something to improve the water quality."
