Spirits were high as groups of volunteers completed the final day of work on projects for the Extreme Stream Makeover.

Volunteers laughed and joked with each other about the work they were doing as an anonymous driver threw trash out the window while passing the group. One of the workers joked, “I had just cleaned that spot” as another walked over to pick up the trash.

More than 87 bags of trash and recycling were collected from the worksites and other areas; 30 bags came from a single local stream. In addition to the trash, five drainage sites were constructed to purify water runoff and over 1,500 plants were planted. 5 drainage ponds were constructed in various areas, and one major site is still under construction at Denbigh High School. The drainage sites are “bio retention” ponds designed to collect and filter runoff through various natural materials and plant beds watered by the ponds.

Three sites were constructed at the Stony Run Athletic Complex, two sites were completed at Grissom Library, and one site is still under construction at Denbigh High School. Although work at the High School is still ongoing, what had been done so far is impressive. A Green House, Gardens, and pond will be completed during April 26-28^th.

Amber Ellis, Volunteer Coordinator, said, “Everything looks great. All of the Volunteers have been awesome. They’ve got things done a lot faster than we expected.” The speed of completion is easy to understand when considering the contagious enthusiasm of the volunteers and the number of workers. 50 volunteers from Anheuser Busch, 30 volunteers from Booker T Washington Middle School, and 30 volunteers from Dozier Middle School assisted in construction. Local garden clubs, rotary clubs, and CNU were also in attendance. Judith Warrenton thanked the city for its contribution to the event and said, “The city has been very helpful.”

Michelle Kokolis, Project Manager, expressed the goals of the project as twofold. They intend to improve the quality of the water through physical intervention and encouraging local involvement.   For the physical portion, the project identifies a watershed in need, designs, and implements means to help the city and improve water quality. Other key aspects to improving water quality are local involvement and personal responsibility. The James River Association encourages these by offering interactive and educational tool on their website. Michelle Kokolis encourages readers to visit their site, view local projects, and participate with the “What’s in Your Runoff?” calculator. http://www.jamesriverassociation.org/

Copyright © 2011 James River Journal

Story by Geoff Owens     This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it