Want to help with a cleanup but don’t have time to arrange one yourself? Come join our team! We have a few coming up:
| When | Where | Details | Community Partner | Sign up |
| September 21 10am-1pm |
Paddle from Frog Island in Ypsilanti to Ford Lake (shoreline work in Ypsilanti available too) | Bring your own canoe or kayak, gloves, and life jackets. We’ll provide the gloves and trash bags. A group will be doing on-land cleanup activities at the same time for those without a boat. |
REI |
Sign up here For questions, email Daniel Brown here. |
| September 28 9am-2pm |
Island Lake State Recreation Area (shoreline work available too) | Bring your own canoe or kayak, gloves, and life jackets. We’ll provide the gloves and trash bags. We will meet at Kent Lake at 9 am and start paddling by 9:30 am. (Heavner’s Canoe & Kayak Rental has generously offered to provide a small number of canoes for this event. Let us know if you need a boat in the comments section of the sign up form.) |
REI |
Sign up here.
For questions, email Daniel Brown here. |
We notify volunteer on our email list of upcoming cleanups. If you aren’t signed up as a volunteer yet, here’s the Volunteer Sign up form to receive notifications.
For information about our cleanup program, email Jason here.
Items to bring along for all cleanups:
- Gloves, closed-toe shoes, clothing appropriate for getting wet and dirty
- Sunscreen and/or mosquito repellent
- If available: polarized sunglasses
Items to bring along for some cleanups. We will let you know if you need these items before the event:
- Waders (if the cleanup will be on a creek)
- If not hosted at a livery: canoe, kayak, or other watercraft AND personal flotation device
- Heavy duty trash bags (stronger than the average household use bags)
After party: We often have a potluck/BBQ after the cleanups, to say thanks!
Fine Print:
* Some cleanups have canoes provided for free, some for a slight charge, and for some cleanups, we ask that you to bring your own watercraft.
* HRWC and partners will have some trash bags and gloves, but it helps if you have your own.
Sponsored by: HRWC, DEQ, City of Ann Arbor Give 365, Ann Arbor Trout Unlimited, Huron River Fly Fishing Club, Schultz Outfitters, Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority, Skips Canoe Livery, and Toyota.
Woody Debris Management
Many believed that logjams were a significant problem in urban rivers and were completely removed from stream channels. New studies have shown that properly managed large woody debris help reduce erosion, provide habitat for fish and wildlife, and are an important part of a river system’s natural processes. It’s been recommend to leave most logjams in place. Woody Debris Management (WDM) is the process of determining whether to move, remove, or add woody debris in a river and how best to do that work. The Clean and Open Method of Woody Debris Management has been specifically developed to give guidance on how to manage logjams, preserving the benefits they provide while minimizing the problems they can create.
We currently have no scheduled woody debris management training workshops. Please contact Jason if you would like to be involved in this project. Email Jason here or call (734) 769-5123 x600