Volunteers cleanup Lady Bird Lake following Fourth of July
AUSTIN (KXAN) — It’s been over a week since Fourth of July festivities wrapped up in Austin.
Throughout the Independence Day weekend, Austin witnessed thousands of people on paddleboards, kayaks and boats in Lady Bird Lake.
This week, cleanup efforts have continued as a lot of litter is still floating on the lake.
On Tuesday, a team of 25 volunteers went on kayaks to pick up waste on the water.
With gloves and grabbers, the group gathered tons of trash while scooping up other recyclable items such as bottles and cans.
Local nonprofit Keep Austin Beautiful organized this cleanup effort in partnership with the Austin Rowing Club.
Aubrea Rudder is the general manager at Austin Rowing Club.
“If we didn't clean Lady Bird Lake all the time, trash would accumulate along the shoreline,” she explained.
“Eventually, it would probably get pushed all the way over to the Longhorn Dam. This would impact our rowers and hinder the entire experience of our kayakers.”
This was one of 30 cleanups that Keep Austin Beautiful organizes year-round at local parks, waterways and green spaces.
Rodney Ahart is the CEO of Keep Austin Beautiful.
“We're making an impact this very moment,” he said. “We're also showing others in the community how important it is to give back and for us all to do our part.”
Here’s a list of upcoming Keep Austin Beautiful cleanups:
- South Boggy Creek Cleanup at Dittmar Park, Wednesday, July 12
- Garrison Park Early Morning Cleanup, Thursday, July 13
- Garrison Park Late Morning Cleanup, Thursday, July 13
- Williamson Creek Cleanup at Dove Springs Park, Wednesday, July 19
- Mary Moore Searight Morning Cleanup, Thursday, July 20
- Mary Moore Searight Late Morning Cleanup, Thursday, July 20
To sign up to volunteer, you can click here.