Thank you to all groups that helped with our social distancing style Shades Creek Cleanup. 128 people participated in this year’s Shades Creek Cleanup and Restoration Project. Cleanup included walking Shades Creek to remove trash and removing trash beside Shades Creek. This year kudzu and other invasive species were removed beside Shades Creek and at Homewood Forest Preserve. A restoration project included cutting Black Willow and Sycamore stakes to be placed along Shades Creek to help stabilize the creek bank. Below (L to R) Top row: 1, 2, 3, Homewood High School students, Middle row: 1.Homewood High School students, 2.Samford University students, 3.cleanup crew of different ages. Last row: 1.Kudzu removal crew, 2.cutting Black Willow and Sycamore stakes, 3.stakes and matting placed for creek bank stabilization. (Group not pictured: Lutheran Church crew near Brookwood Village and Shades Creek.)
Trash pile at Griffin Creek
Boy Scouts and HHS volunteers
Girl Scout Troop
Volunteers ready to work
2019 Shades Creek Cleanup
140 volunteers came out to help with the Annual Fall Shades Creek Cleanup on September 28. We have put on a fall cleanup for over 20 years. We want to thank Amber Kustos at Samford University and Anne Stephenson at Brookwood Village for providing volunteer stations, snacks and drinks for our volunteers. Also, thank you to all 140 volunteers that came out to help and our Friends of Shades Creek board members and creek cleanup leaders. Thanks also to SWMA and Jefferson County for materials provided for our cleanup.
5 pickup loads of trash were collected. Some of the more interesting items found were: a plastic swimming pool, an entire bicycle, a love-letter, a wine glass and a dollar bill. Yep, that volunteer said it pays to clean-up.