Forty volunteers rolled up their sleeves, donned gloves and got in canoes to help clean up the section of Salado Creek that runs through Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston as an early Earth Day initiative from 8 a.m. to noon April 14.
The volunteers, mostly Army students and a few retired veterans, picked up approximately 25 bags, as well as about a third of a plastic lawn chair and a plastic cable spool. The group concentrated on one particularly bad section of the creek.
Most of the trash was Styrofoam bits and plastic bottles. A few needles were found as well, and were disposed of in sharps containers, so no one would accidently stick themselves.
Earth Day, which began in 1970, takes place this year on April 22, 2023, with a theme of “Invest In Our Planet.”