As summer approaches, people look to water activities to try to cool off. This weekend, the city of Lexington is looking for volunteers to help clean up portions of the Kentucky River as part of their “Kentucky River Clean Sweep.”
Jennifer Myatt is an environmental initiative specialist with the city of Lexington. She said the volunteer cleanup crews will be working on the water.
“We will be going out in boats and canoes and our volunteers will be picking up litter and trash out of the river and from the riverbank they can reach from the boats and the canoes,” Myatt said.
She added they’re expected a good turnout with slightly cooler weather. This is the first clean sweep they have done since 2019. Myatt said it is important to keep this particular body of water clean.
“It is the largest body of water in Lexington, but because it is so far out in the county, a lot of people don’t get a chance to experience it close up. So, we love being able to bring volunteers out on the river and for them to be able to make a difference by cleaning up trash from the water body that runs through Lexington,” said Myatt.
She explained that, on average, they pull around a ton of trash from the river. It will start Saturday and volunteers should gather at the site at 8:30 A.M. Participants will return to shore around noon.
The Lexington Environmental Quality and Public Works department is a financial supporter of WEKU.
*Editor's noted- This story was edited to reflect that The Lexington Environmental Quality and Public Works department is a financial supporter of WEKU.
