It is an annual week-long event bringing hundreds of people together of all ages to clean rivers. This year, the Iowa River was chosen and 250 men, women and children paddled their way down the muddy-colored water, digging trash from the depths and the banks.

They began the day at the Furrow Access and cleaned their way to Riverview Park. From there, the crew packed everything up and traveled to Three Bridges and cleaned their way to McCoy Landing near Tama, covering 13 miles.

Luke Wright, of Wadena, has volunteered for the event the last 19 years and said the last time Project AWARE cleaned the Iowa River was 2012. This year also marked the 20th anniversary of Project AWARE, and Wright said they were trying to accumulate one million pounds of garbage. He spent the day separating the pieces of garbage, making sure everything was placed in the proper receptacles.

Large pieces of metal were placed in a trailer for recycling. Tires, of which there were many, were sorted into the back of another trailer.

“A lot of it is tires because people don’t want to pay the money to dispose of it,” Wright said. “So, they just throw it on the river bank or in the river, literally.”

Some of the trash was taken to the city of Ames as they burn it for energy. Linn County Recycling took all of the glass. Wright guessed at least one ton of garbage was collected from the Iowa River when including the pre-cleanup which took place on Sunday. That amount is average, he said.

“What we’re trying to do, essentially, is keep everything out of the landfills,” Wright said. “We’re batting 81 percent over the years.”

He said different people representing different groups were participating in this year’s clean-up – AmeriCorps, Conservation Corps, Department of Natural Resources and more.

“Most of us have helped for quite a while,” Wright said. “It’s people giving back and taking care of their environment. It’s a feel good (thing) and a sense of community. This is like a family reunion every year.”

Iowa Project AWARE members dug some rather unconventional items, such as an old doll and a mannequin head, from the Iowa River in Marshalltown on Monday. Eighty-one percent of the trash items the group collected goes to recycling.

Mark Stenson of Marshalltown, a friend of Wright’s, came to see the effort on Monday.

“This is quite an operation — 120 canoes on the river today,” Stenson said. “Unbelievable, and they all come in with something.”

Liz Moss, who was participating in her ninth year of Iowa Project AWARE, spent the day sorting through the trash with Wright and brought her children with her.

“It’s not just the clean-up. We have educational programming and they learn paddling,” she said. “It’s like RAGBRAI on the river.”

No one knows which river Iowa Project AWARE will clean in 2024. Wright said the members vote on where they want to go.

“We won’t know until later on this summer,” he said.

The public is invited to check out the effort, help out and even attend the evening programs at their Otter Creek Park campsite, Wright said.

“We have educational programs, fun stuff for the kids to do,” he said. “We like to encourage families. The kids grow up with the ‘clean-up culture.’ We love to have them learn. Next thing you know, they’re walking down the street and picking up a piece of trash — just out of habit.”

CLEANING ROUTE:

• Tuesday from McCoy Landing, 2993 C. Ave., Montour to Manatt’s Landing, 1974 340th St., Tama, 14 miles.

Members of Iowa Project AWARE haul an old tire out of the Iowa River at Riverview Park in Marshalltown on Monday. The group is doing a clean-up of the river this week, starting in Marshalltown.

• Wednesday from Manatt’s Landing to Duffus Landing, 2711 360th St., Chelsea, 12 miles

• Thursday from Duffus Landing to Belle Plaine Access, 1005 B. Ave., Belle Plaine, 17 miles

• Friday from Belle Plaine Access to Koszta Access, 1168 F. Ave., Marengo, 9 miles.

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Contact Lana Bradstream

at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.