Et cetera : Maple 1 makes the Mississippi shine again

NCCC Maple 1 has been improving the Mississippi River.

The team with the items the removed from the riverbed.

By: Brian Krantz and Anthony Copeland, Maple 1

Maple 1 in conjunction with Living Lands & Waters (LL&W) and Alternative Spring Break volunteers from five different colleges collected recyclables, scrap metal and used tires from the river banks of the Mississippi last week. Overall, the total square footage of trash collected equaled 12,150 sq. ft.

The team lived on a barge with the Living Lands & Waters crew. The barge had five bedrooms, two bathrooms, one common area, and a kitchen. Next to the barge with the living quarters was the garbage barge where the team assembled into a chain formation to unload the small Jon boats daily.

The crew of Living Lands & Waters gave Maple 1 a formal safety training and overall knowledge of living life on a barge. Several members from Maple 1 were also able to attend a press conference hosted by the sponsor that had guest speakers from the Tennessee Department of Transportation, Beautify Memphis and Fox News local Media. Maple 1’s first project experience was fun-filled, gratifying and a great start to their service for the next nine months.

The non-profit organization LL&W has hosted 525 cleanups and removed over 7 million pounds of garbage in 10 different states. Although they have done work on other rivers, their main focus is on the Mississippi.