Renew Our Rivers set for 10th year

 

Mississippi Power’s award-winning environmental stewardship program Renew Our Rivers is turning 10 years old in 2015. The campaign kicks off Apr. 22 with the annual Deer Island Cleanup, where more than 100 volunteers will remove several tons of trash from the barrier island.

The first cleanup of 2015 will once again take place on Earth Day, and include volunteers from several south Mississippi casinos.

“Renew Our Rivers has grown to be much more than ‘just’ a Mississippi Power initiative,” Environmental Affairs Director Mark Loughman said. “From the Mississippi Sound to the Chunky River in Newton County, the people of Mississippi have embraced Renew Our Rivers and have helped make it one of the state’s premiere environmental stewardship programs.”

In 2014, Renew Our Rivers volunteers removed more than 14 tons of debris from local waterways. That brings the total amount of trash removed in the first nine years of cleanups to 291 tons.

“We’re on pace to reach the 300-ton mark in 2015,” Loughman added.

Cleanups in 2015 will once again return to Deer Island, Back Bay Biloxi, Chunky River, Okatoma River, Pascagoula River, Gulfport Lake and Boley Creek in Picayune.

The focus remains on areas throughout the company’s service territory that stakeholders and volunteers help to identify as needing assistance. While Hurricane Katrina provided plenty of opportunities and locations for debris removal, program organizers are noticing Katrina-related debris areas are becoming fewer and fewer.

“We are turning our focus to urban waterways and the continuing battle against liter in our streams, bayous and bays,” Renew Our Rivers program coordinator Courtney VanderSchaaf said. “We identify areas where our volunteers will do the most good and try to educate the public on the importance of maintaining healthy water ecosystems.”