Photo credit: Kathy Dubansky

Over the next week, hundreds of volunteers are canoeing across the Skunk River in the KCII listening area as part of the Iowa Project AWARE annual river cleanup.

An acronym for A Watershed Awareness River Expedition, Iowa Project AWARE began with the DNR in 2003 before moving to the non-profit N-Compass Incorporated. Event Director, Nina Marquardt shared the mission of their efforts with KCII. “Iowa Project AWARE is a volunteer river cleanup organization that goes to a different river in Iowa every year by canoe and clean up all of the visible trash and recycle as much as possible. We tent camp together at night and then in the evenings we hold educational programs in camps.”

This year’s event runs from Sunday, July 7 to Friday, July 12. Spanning 74.5 miles of the Skunk River, the cleanup effort will pass through Keokuk, Washington, Jefferson, Henry, Lee, and Des Moines counties. Camps and educational programs will be held at three different sites during the week: Lake Darling State Park, the waterworks area of Oakland Mills, and Midwest Old Threshers Campground.

As many as 237 people per day will participate in this year’s river cleanup. With questions, to volunteer, or to view an educational program schedule, visit iowaprojectaware.org.