PHOENIX — On Saturday at the Salt River, over 100 volunteers worked together to remove six tons of trash from the preserve.
Everything from beer cans to tires was removed from the preserve. The clean-up is an annual effort by the City of Phoenix and Rio Reimagined to keep parks in our community clean.
“We have more acres of parks than any other city, and beautiful wetlands like this one. If we take care of them, they’re truly a community asset and a treasure," Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said.
The Salt River is one of the Valley's major sources of drinking and irrigation water and is a big recreation spot. Any illegal dumping or litter threatens its ecosystem.
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“Foreign materials out in nature are a risk to wildlife, and a risk to our water quality," Cece Riviere with Rio Reimagined said.
Volunteers say they wish more people would be considerate of the environment when they head out to area parks and preserves.
“I feel disappointed," Alyssa Johnson, one of the volunteers, said. “Please remember, this beauty we as humans get to bask in, it’s only possible if we allow it to remain that way."
Still, Johnson says seeing so many people take time out of their weekend to come out and help also gives her hope and optimism.
“I feel some of that rage quell and I remember there are so many humans that do want to be part of this ecosystem," Johnson said.
Rio Reimagined has a calendar of events for future clean up dates.
