Weekend Earth Day Clean-Up in Milwaukee

Today we were blessed with our best weather of the new season - it was sunny, very dry air, dry ground and, best of all, mild breezes and warm temperatures! Where I live (about 7.5 miles west of Lake Michigan), I think it was about 70 F or so. I headed to the supermarket shortly after 10 AM in a long sleeved fleece shirt and jeans and worked up a sweat walking back with two canvas sacks of groceries (that's part of my work-out routine - I carry about 5-6 pounds in each sack.) Now I've got the news on television and it warmed my heart seeing lots of kids out today for the annual Earth Day park clean-up in Milwaukee County. Here is press coverage from the local newspaper, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: Photo: Jack Orton Daniel Joannes, 12, with Boy Scout Troop 27 from St. Pius in Wauwatosa, and troop volunteers Tony Balcom and Mike Lisser try to pull a large metal bicycle rack out of the Menomonee River in Hoyt Park as they took part in the Keep America Beautiful 2009 Great American Cleanup. River cleanup draws 3,000 volunteers By Bill Glauber of the Journal Sentinel Posted: Apr. 18, 2009 1:09 p.m. Wauwatosa – Amid the old shoes and clothes, rusting car parts and dirty bottles that were picked up by volunteers Saturday along the banks of the Menomonee River in Hoyt Park, Colin Brown discovered something in the mud that made him do a double take. It was a cardboard sign that read: "The activist is not the man who says the river is dirty. The activist is the man who cleans up the river." "It was kind of funny," Brown said. "The sign reminds you to take action. You have to do something." Brown was among thousands of volunteers who scoured area parks, woods and rivers in the Milwaukee Riverkeeper's annual Spring River Cleanup. The big event is designed to collect trash that can foul waterways as well as raise awareness about preserving the beauty of Wisconsin's landscape. Wednesday marks Earth Day, the event that was founded by Gaylord A. Nelson, the former Wisconsin governor and U.S. Senator. The first Earth Day was launched in 1970. Armed with trash bags, work gloves and rugged shoes, everyone from Boy Scout troops to senior citizens fanned out along the Milwaukee, Menomonee and Kinnickinnic rivers. They cleaned up along the Hank Aaron State Trail in the Menomonee Valley. And they picked up trash in the northern watershed in locations around Cedarburg, Grafton and West Bend. And along the way, they discovered some unusual items, like a toilet, kid's wagon, a towel with an Olympic logo and a full bedroom set complete with headboard, mattress, box spring and matching table. Paul Schwarzkopf, who organized the event, estimated 3,000 volunteers participated, the count boosted he said by Saturday's warm weather, the addition of 10 sites, and the continued revival of the Milwaukee River. Organizers handed out 6,000 garbage bags and by mid-morning they received calls that more were needed. "People are starting to turn toward the river, not away from it," he said. "People are looking at the river as a vital water resource." He said the cleanup reminded people what they have in their hometowns and neighborhoods. Hoyt Park, a popular recreation spot in Wauwatosa, was abuzz with activity, as 153 volunteers scattered in the woods and parking lots to clean up. A Boy Scout troop discovered an old park bike rack in the woods, along with a green-slatted park bench. "You kind of raise consciousness about littering," said Kathleen Ellis Stifter, who served as site captain. "If you're going to change the next generation you have to get them involved while they're young." Ashley Lentz, among 20 employees from WaterStone Bank to participate, gathered a bag full of old bottles. "I've been going on these park trails since I was a kid," she said. "It's a nice event to come out and preserve what I had growing up."