The Middle Nolichucky Watershed Alliance sponsored a creek cleanup Thursday along Holley Creek, and another is planned this Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. along Richland Creek.

On Thursday, 47 students and five adults from Greeneville Adventist Academy scoured the banks of Holley Creek.

Candy Adams, director of Keep Greene Beautiful, said the youngsters collected a total of 925 pounds of trash.

She said they worked so fast that they had most of the creek bank cleaned up before they were supposed to stop, so they branched out and picked up litter in the vicinity of the Greeneville Commons, which borders the creek.

The Commons is in the creek's "watershed," or drainage area, and litter almost anywhere uphill from the creek can eventually find its way into it, especially after a big rain, Adams said.

After the cleanup, the students were fed lunch. One of the sponsors of the event, TCBY, gave them yogurt for dessert after their pizza, Adams said.

Teacher Kristine Greene said that participating in the cleanup seemed to make her third- and fourth-grade students more aware of the problem caused by littering.

She said students told her that they realized that some people are messy. Greene said she believes most of them now will be much less likely to litter.

Students said the most unusual thing they found may have been a "stop" sign wrapped with barbed wire.

Thursday's event and the one planned for Saturday are part of the Great American Cleanup, a grassroots beautification, litter-prevention and community-improvement program led nationally by Keep America Beautiful, Inc., Adams said.

Saturday's Schedule

Volunteers are asked to register at 8:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the YMCA. At that time, they will receive trash bags and gloves, as well as their cleanup location.

A safety orientation will be held at 9 a.m. All children under the age of 18 will be required to have a parent/guardian complete a release form.

The cleanup area will be along Richland Creek where it runs parallel to Bernard Avenue.

After the cleanup, volunteers are asked to report back to the tent for lunch, which will be provided at noon by the Watershed Alliance and Coca-Cola.

Volunteers will report the number of bags of litter they collected and any large items that need to be removed at a later date, Adams said.

Once the volunteers have reported on the cleanup, they will be eligible for the prizes to be given away during lunch.

Gift certificates also will be given to the groups with the most bags of litter collected, the most volunteers and the most unusual item found during the cleanup. Each participating volunteer will receive a participation gift.

The Tennessee Valley Authority will provide bags and gloves to all participants.
"This is the fourth year that the alliance has sponsored this event, and we are very excited about the opportunity to do this for the community," said Fred Kaufmann, chairman of the Middle Nolichucky Watershed Alliance (MNWA).

Kaufmann said the MNWA proposes to utilize the April creek cleanup as a kickoff of a more comprehensive stream restoration of Holley Creek that will involve a partnership between the Watershed Alliance and its participating organizations.

In addition to the Middle Nolichucky Watershed Alliance, this event is being sponsored by TVA, Keep Greene Beautiful, Coca-Cola, the Tennessee Department of Transportation and Wal-Mart store.

For more information, call Candy Adams, director of Keep Greene Beautiful, at 638-4111.