The 8th Annual Kenai River Spring Cleanup is scheduled for May 12-13 in Soldotna. It’s an opportunity for the community to work together to keep Soldotna and the Kenai River clean. In addition to the removal of debris from the riparian habitat of the Kenai River, this event also seeks to instill a sense of personal responsibility and stewardship for the Kenai River within the youth of the community.
Shannon Martin with the Kenai River Sportfishing Association told KSRM:
“So we’re going to be cleaning about seven sites along the river from Sterling all the way through Soldotna. There’s about anywhere from 300-500 students who participate. I feel it’s kind of like a spring garden where everybody goes out and you weed the garden and you prepare it for the incoming salmon run.”
Martin speaks on the importance of spring cleanup:
“Yeah, it’s important to teach our children and our youth in our community to be good stewards of the environment and they get to experience that firsthand with participating in the spring cleanup.”
Martin speaks on how much has been picked up over the years:
“I mean it can be anywhere from 2,000 pounds of trash all the way up to 3,600 pounds of trash each cleanup. It’s huge. It’s water bottles, cigarette buts, trash, tires, fishing line, fishing weights, there’s a lot of things that are discarded at our public parks and our public access points.”
In 2014, in cooperation with the Kenai River Professional Guide Association and the Kenai River Sportfishing Association, Mark and Cindy Glassmaker created the Kenai River Spring Cleanup. Through this event, over 3,000 school kids have removed over 10,000 pounds of trash from the Kenai River. This event is a way for local students to connect with and protect the Kenai River.
For more information: Call the Kenai River Spring Cleanup Committee at (907) 262-8588.