Volunteers from five localities in the New River Valley build on last year’s event.
The second, regional ReNew the New Clean-up Event tripled the number of miles cleaned up and nearly tripled the tonnage of trash and tires removed from the New River Watershed, compared to last year’s event. Held on Saturday, August 26th, 2017, in Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, and Pulaski Counties, and the City of Radford, this year 475 volunteers and local government staff cleaned up over 30 miles of waterway and streambank on the New River and its tributaries. 11 tons of trash and tires were collected, including 401 tires and 357 trash bags. In comparison, last year’s ReNew the New Clean-up Event at Bisset Park, in Radford, saw 450 volunteers, and 4 tons of trash and 150 tires along 10 miles of the New River.
This year’s event marked the second time the New River Valley has come together as a region to hold a clean-up of it’s watershed. Many of the volunteers came from student groups at Virginia Tech, along with local volunteers from each locality. Outfitters stationed along the New and Little Rivers provided guidance and watercraft for those cleaning up waterways, with administrative support coming from the local government staff from all five localities.
The regional ReNew the New Clean-up Event was coordinated by the New River Watershed Roundtable, a consortium of local government agencies, businesses, advocacy groups, and the public. Administered by the New River Valley Regional Commission, the Watershed Roundtable acts as a forum to promote watershed stewardship through fair, open dialogue, and community collaboration. More information about the New River Watershed Roundtable can be found at www.nrvrc.org/watershedroundtable .