Cleanup Project will Tackle Cedar River

Project A.W.A.R.E. is an Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) effort designed to lead Iowans to the natural waterways of the state and to engage them in efforts to cleanup the environment.

The AWARE objectives include:

• Increasing awareness about water quality issues that threaten the health of Iowa's water resources and promote advocacy and action towards their improvement and protection.
• Engaging Iowa's citizen volunteers in a project that challenges them to become stewards of the river and produces a tangible, quantitative result (numbers of citizens involved and quantity of trash removed, recycled, reused, or properly disposed).
• Demonstrating the commitment of Iowa's citizens by giving of themselves and their valuable time to make a difference - one stretch of river, one piece of trash at a time.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has announced that this year's cleanup project will help spruce up an 86-mile stretch of the Cedar River from Center Point to Muscatine.

This is the seventh annual Project AWARE. Hundreds of volunteers are expected to turn out for the cleanup project from June 20 to June 27. During the expedition, volunteers use canoes and kayaks to float down the river and pick up trash along the way.

Some volunteers also take part in land-based projects. Organizers said Project AWARE has enlisted more than 1,200 participants to clean up nearly 500 miles of Iowa's rivers.

Check out the DNR Project AWARE Web Site for more information.