Volunteers from the New River Valley unite around cleaning up the New River
FAIRLAWN – Five clean-up events in the New River Valley brought citizens and students together for the fourth regional ReNew the New River Clean-up.
Building off the success of the last three years, this year’s event amplified the NRV tradition of volunteering by cleaning up 25 miles of waterways and roads. Volunteers removed over six tons of trash and more than 150 tires from the New River Watershed. 750 people participated in the event, held on three consecutive Saturdays. Floyd County focused on the Little River on August 24th. The New River received attention Saturday, August 31st in Giles and Montgomery Counties and the City of Radford, and September 7th in Pulaski County. Since 2016, 2,025 volunteers participating in the fall ReNew the New Clean-up events have removed over 1,200 bags of trash and an estimated 850 tires, totaling over 26 tons of debris. Volunteers covered over 50 miles of roads and riverfront during this time.
This year’s event marked the fourth time the New River Valley has come together as a region to hold a clean-up of its watershed. Volunteers came from student groups at Radford University and Virginia Tech, alongside volunteers from each community across the region. Outfitter businesses based along the New River provided guidance and watercraft for those cleaning up waterways, including New River Adventure, New River Junction, New River’s Edge, New River Outdoor Co., Tangent Outfitters and On the Water. Other sponsors of the event include, Wild Country Studios, New River Valley Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Virginia Eagle Distributing, Benny Nicola’s and Sharkey’s in Radford, Virginia Dept of Environmental Quality, Virginia Department of Transportation, New River Conservancy, Earth Day Network, American Rivers, Pulaski Clean Community Council and Boy Scouts of America. Administrative support was provided by local government staff from all five localities, as well as the New River Valley Regional Commission.
The regional ReNew the New Clean-up Event was coordinated by the New River Watershed Roundtable, a consortium of local government agencies, businesses, advocacy groups, and the public. Administered by the New River Valley Regional Commission, the Watershed Roundtable acts as a forum to promote watershed stewardship through fair, open dialogue, and community collaboration. More information about the New River Watershed Roundtable can be found at www.nrvrc.org/watershedroundtable .
