This summer, HRWC invites you to conduct DIY river or shoreline cleanups with your household or pandemic pod. With the goal of having river cleanups along the entire extent of the Huron River, HRWC has led, collaborated on, nurtured, and inspired an ever-growing number of events over the past ten years. Of course, these events were paused in 2020. But with your help, we can cover more areas than ever.

Inflatable with trash collected during a DIY cleanup
This is just one of many DIY cleanup collections done by J. Spaly.

River cleanups can be conducted on the water with either your own, a borrowed, or a rented canoe or kayak. For those who prefer to stay on solid ground, cleaning up trash along the river or a creek also helps keep the river clean and healthy. Even picking up trash along our streets and neighborhoods is helpful because stormdrains deliver rainwater directly into creeks and the river, often carrying pollution and litter as well.

While most trash that ends up in the river is due to accidents, some comes from littering. When an area is degraded and there is a lot of trash, some folks treat that location poorly in other ways. When parks, neighborhoods, and the river are clear of trash, people are more likely to treat them well. This is one reason we all need to do our part to keep the Huron clean. If we all pick up litter, others will be more likely to clean up and be more careful about disposing trash.

How to do a DIY Cleanup

So head out to your favorite section of the Huron, your favorite park, or take a walk in your neighborhood. While enjoying the outdoors, pick up a bag (or three) of litter. Leading by example is an effective way to inspire stewardship! To learn how to set up your cleanup and register it, check our our River Cleanups page here.  Please take a photo and tag your cleanup on social media: #HuronRiverDIY.

Details on put-in and take-out locations throughout the Huron can be found at the Huron River Water Trail website. You can also find out where to rent a canoe or kayak on the Huron River Water Trail site too.

Learn more and register your cleanup today!