Riverfest Workers Clean Up Annual Event Picks Up Tons Of Trash Along Spokane River
It just seemed right to Mike McInnis and his family to help clean up the lower Spokane River during Riverfest ‘96. They use the river regularly and wanted to give something back.
“We do a bit of biking and see the river and see the trash,” said McInnis. This was one of the first environmental events that they could volunteer for as a whole family, he said.
A whole lot of families, church groups and Boy Scouts gathered at High Bridge Park Saturday morning to collect trash along a seven-mile stretch from the Maple Street Bridge to Seven Mile Road and to enjoy a free cookout in the park.
Event organizers Sherrie and Bob Rockser of Northwest River Ecology Inc. said they know what they’re doing is making a difference.
“The water quality is getting better all the time. You can see it,” said Bob Rockser. “We saw three river otters the other day and they won’t go anywhere it’s dirty. For a couple of weeks’ worth of work, it’s a small price to pay for what we’ve got here.”
Sherrie Rockser said it’s important that the river be kept clean for everyone to use.
“I don’t think you get an appreciation for the river or the amount of trash that’s there until you come down and see it,” she said.
Riverfest, now in its third year, also is a way to educate children about looking after the environment, she said. This year marks the first time Riverfest has been involved with KidsWeek.
“They constantly come up to me and say ‘I’ll never throw something away again.’ And that’s what it’s really about,” she said.
Wearing latex gloves and toting plastic bags, volunteers scooped up as much trash as they could find along the shore. Some discovered car parts, a roadblock sign, old tires and even a shopping cart coated in algae. But mostly, people picked up pop cans, beer bottles and paper wrappers.
Cleanups in 1993 and 1994 helped pick up almost 15 tons of trash along the same seven-mile stretch. The 1995
Riverfest was canceled due to a lack of sponsorship. This year, Washington Water Power, Northwest Whitewater Association and Northwest River Ecology Inc. sponsored the event.
After scouring the riverside for rubbish and surviving some run-ins with thick brush and bee stings, participants were treated to a barbecue, free T-shirts, balloons and goody bags filled with stickers and pencils for the kids.
As she chomped on a burger, Kayci Tomkinson, 8, said this is the first year she and her dad have participated in Riverfest but she’s no newcomer to helping the environment.
“I help my dad pick up the clippings when he mows the lawn and I always help other people pick up their garbage like if I’m at their house,” said Kayci, who lives at Fairchild Air Force Base.
Kayci picked up some “really yucky stuff” including cigarette butts and a dead snake. “I had gloves on so I didn’t mind. It was really fun. But my hands got so tired from picking up all that garbage.”
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