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Operation Big Sweep Sweeps Across Ivy River
by Kristalyn Bunyan
Old rusted bumpers, crushed and decaying cans, beer and cigarette cartons, and other trash polluted peaceful waters along a mile-long section of the Ivy River --- until the recent arrival of Operation Big Sweep. A small band of volunteers from Mars Hill College and the surrounding community hauled away trash that they had untangled from dead briers and yanked out of gooey sand along the river not far from the campus.
A small band of volunteers from Mars Hill College and the surrounding community hauled away trash from Ivy River as a part of Operation Big Sweep.
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Faculty members Laurie Pedersen and Paul Smith and junior Sarah Randolph spent Saturday, Sept. 20, working with a group led by Lesley King, a local businesswoman. Later they were joined by State Representative Ray Rapp, and his wife and son.
These volunteers were simultaneously participating in a national river cleanup. More than 90 countries partake in Operation Big Sweep (http://www.catawbariverkeeper.org). The event is always the third Saturday in September, where volunteers clear waterways of trash. The Ivy River is a tributary of the French Broad River.
King, co-owner of Zuma Coffee in Marshall, was taking part in her second environmental cleanup in the area. She said she "wants to give back to the community…and loves the outdoors."
Smith said it was his first river cleanup with Mars Hill College. "I had no idea what to expect, but was very pleased with the students who did show up." He thinks that next year's cleanup will need more publicity.
The task was quite simple and the materials needed were few. Volunteers, who had been warned to wear long pants and old running shoes,
Smith said it was his first river cleanup with Mars Hill College. "I had no idea what to expect, but was very pleased with the students who did show up."
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were supplied with plastic bags and gloves. Along with these things, the volunteers brought a keen eye and smiles.
As dead scratchy weeds rubbed against them, they searched for trash, often uncovering some odd items. Pedersen nudged a muddy encrusted bent stereo from the river bank. Later, wading up to their knees in the cold water, Smith and a few other volunteers brought a huge metal netting of wire out of the river. The size of the netting was so large that it required two people to carry it up to the roadside.
Then there was the smell of a decaying animal as the work crew walked past an overhead bridge. With the stench surrounding them, the volunteers continued to pick up litter. Anything not belonging in the natural setting was picked up and put into the bags. They found unidentifiable rusted metal objects, torn grocery and fast food bags, water and soil- filled soda bottles, broken glass, and chewing tobacco containers. Usually the objects were covered with mud and moldy slime and sometimes had strange bugs crawling on them. Some of the trash had been there so long that it had almost become part of the surroundings - such as a stereo with grass and other roots growing right through it.
Not all of the morning should be considered disgusting. There were also the smells of the sweet damp grass and a few brightly colored flowers in the weeds. The sky was clear with only a few feathery clouds, and the view of the river was peaceful with changing shadows due to the sway of overhanging branches and quick movements in the brush near the banks.
Not all the morning was disgusting.
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After they had finished, the volunteers piled their trash into the bed of Smith's pick-up truck and hauled it away to a recycling center in Mars Hill.
Then they went to a picnic with volunteers from other area cleanup sites at the island in Marshall. While eating warm fried chicken, fresh salad, and chocolate chip cookies, they relaxed, shared stories about unusual findings of the day, and enjoyed the view of the French Broad River.
Hilltop reporter Kristalyn Bunyan participated as a volunteer in Operation Big Sweep.
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