What:              The 13th annual Neely Henry Renew Our Rivers cleanup will take place April 30 through May 5. Volunteers are encouraged to organize group cleanups in their communities and provide organizers with suggested areas of focus for larger efforts.

                        This Renew Our Rivers cleanup is coordinated by Keep Etowah Beautiful. In 2011, 798 volunteers removed almost 25 tons of debris during spring and fall cleanups. More than 930,000 pounds have been removed from Neely Henry during volunteer cleanups since 2000.

                        The Neely Henry cleanup began in 2000 with Alabama Power employees at Plant Gadsden picking up debris along the shoreline. Since, the event has spread to other waterways as Renew Our Rivers has become one of the Southeast’s largest cleanups.

Overview:      Volunteers for Renew Our Rivers have collected more than 12 million pounds of trash since the program’s inception in 2000. This year, 29  cleanups are planned through October on the Alabama, Black Warrior, Cahaba, Chattahoochee, Coosa, Mobile and Tallapoosa rivers.

Directions:     The public is encouraged to collect trash along Neely Henry’s 339 miles of shoreline. Volunteers can get trash bags, T-shirts and gloves by contacting Keep Etowah Beautiful. Collected debris can be brought to the Mort Glosser Amphitheater parking lot though May 5 at 1 p.m.

Contact:         For more information, contact Keep Etowah Beautiful at 256-549-0900.