Volunteers Needed: Clean Up River des Peres Saturday

The Great Rivers Greenway District, in partnership with the River des Peres Watershed Coalition and the St. Louis Metropolitan Sewer District, is holding the third-annual River des Peres Trash Bash this Saturday. Area residents are invited to this family-friendly event from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday clean up neighborhoods along the creeks and improve water quality in St. Louis City and County.

"The annual River des Peres Trash Bash has proven to be a successful clean-up event in previous years, and we are expecting an even bigger turnout this year," said Susan Trautman, executive director of Great Rivers Greenway.

Volunteers of all ages are needed to clear litter from several sites, including Gravois Creek in Green Park running into Crestwood, Lower River des Peres in Affton and South St. Louis City along Germania Street, Deer Creek in Maplewood and Ladue, Engelholm Creek near the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus, and Upper River des Peres in University City.

Registration will take place from 8 a.m. to 8:30. The main sign-in location will be held at Fultz Field, located along the River des Peres Greenway on River des Peres Boulevard between Morganford and Gravois.

A second registration site for efforts further north will be at Centennial Commons, located at 7210 Olive Blvd.

All cleaning supplies will be provided to volunteers.

The clean-up event will last from 8:30 a.m. to noon and will be followed by a celebratory lunch at Fultz Field. During lunch, volunteers will also be rewarded for their efforts with entertainment and prizes for the best trash finds.