Cleanup project coming to Skunk River this summer

WASHINGTON — A group of over 300 volunteers is expected to boat down the Skunk River in roughly 100 canoes from Richland to Des Moines County this summer, cleaning up trash and learning about the community as they go, in a weeklong trip dubbed “Iowa Project AWARE.”

The event’s name is an acronym for “A Watershed Awareness River Expedition.” Once a year for the last 20 years, organizers pick a river somewhere in the Hawkeye state to paddle down and clean up.

Iowa AWARE board of directors President Laura Semken said the cleanups helped address “legacy dumps,” areas near waterways where communities historically left their trash, as well as general pollution.

“We want our rivers to be safe places to recreate, to fish, to swim, and so we need to give them a little tender love and care,” she said. “We’re working to build a community actively engaged in enjoying and maintaining Iowa’s watersheds.”

Iowa Project AWARE volunteers paddle for 10-20 miles on each day of the trip, according to an email shared with Washington County officials, which invited them to participate in a planning committee for this year’s cleanup.

The group stops by nightfall at established campsites along the way. There, they’re treated to a range of educational activities coordinated with locals. She invites anyone interested to make contact with Iowa Project AWARE through the event’s website.

“Any community we come to, we’re excited to learn anything about the community, like the cultural and natural resources,” Semken said. “We invite folks that want to share (an) evening program. We usually reach out to all the county naturalists, we reach out to anything that’s historical in the area.”

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Semken said there was no particular reason to choose the Skunk River — flowing through Washington, Henry and Jefferson counties — in 2024, besides that it had never been visited by the group previously.

“Basically, we go where we can figure out logistics for the event, because every river in Iowa needs help,” she said. “And every community, every watershed that that river flows through is interesting … to learn about. We bring people together to learn about each river in Iowa, we don’t want to leave any of them out.”

Iowa Project AWARE is a long-standing tradition organized by a nonprofit called N-Compass. In its 20-year history, the initiative has removed 979,480 lbs. of trash from rivers, according to the event website. Semken said 81% of that was recycled.

Semken said people interested in participating in the cleanup itself should start checking the Iowa Project AWARE website in February or March, when registration opens. That site says volunteers of all ages are welcome, and that they “don’t need to have previous experience doing a river cleanup, or to be an experienced paddler.”

The 2024 river cleanup will start on July 7 at the Skunk River Wildlife Area near Richland, and end on July 12 at the Upper Skunk River Access in Des Moines County.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com