Rotarians, Scouts and others pull trash from the First Broad River
Shelby Rotary Club and community partners collectively removed more than 67 tires and 500 pounds of other trash from the First Broad River at the Spring River Sweep on May 14.
A group of 36 volunteers - including Rotarians, the Broad Riverkeeper David Caldwell, scouts from Troops 101 and 104, and other community members - came together to help remove trash from a four-mile stretch of the First Broad River. Another four volunteers provided on-shore support, running a shuttle and preparing a cookout at the end for participants.
The group put their boats in at the city of Shelby’s Twin Trestle Trailhead on Grover Street and took out at a private farm off Sam Lattimore Road near the Shelby Airport.
“Protecting the environment is Rotary International’s newest area of focus,” said Audrey Whetten Godfrey, who was recently elected to serve as the Shelby Rotary Club president during the 2023-24 year. “This is a fun and rewarding way to highlight that area of focus in our own community. We filled our canoes chock full of tires in the first 2 miles of the trip. Sadly, we could have easily filled up several more dump trucks with the tires we saw in the last two miles. I hope we can do the same stretch again in the fall to finish cleaning it up.”
Removal of tires from waterways is important because old tires contain chemicals and heavy metals that leach into the environment as the tires break down, thus becoming a danger to wildlife, fish, and river users.
Broad Riverkeeper David Caldwell led the group down the river, sharing safety tips, litter collection how-tos, and insights about wildlife along the way.
He said, "We have pulled hundreds of tires from the First Broad River over the past 10 years. These tires I refer to as ‘legacy tires’, almost all dumped into the river many years ago. We don't see new tires entering the waterways now, as folks can easily dispose of their used tires at a recycling center. A more modern pollution problem that we are seeing are the plastics, many single-use, that are ending up on our roadsides and in the rivers. The easiest way to get trash out of our environment is to not litter in the first place."
Shelby Rotary Club previously removed 81 tires from an eight-mile stretch of the First Broad River in their inaugural river sweep in October 2018, from W. Zion Church Road to the trailhead at Grover Street.
“It’s sad how many tires and other kinds of litter are in the river, and we are glad to help remove what we can,” said Whetten Godfrey.
Shelby Rotary Club is an active community organization with over 80 members. Their service projects take place throughout the year, including providing food for students in need at Graham Elementary and Jefferson Elementary, ringing the bell for the Salvation Army, river sweeps and hosting a Rotary Youth Exchange student.
About Rotary
Shelby Rotary Club meets on Fridays at the Cleveland Country Club at noon for fellowship and learning. Anyone interested in joining the Rotary Club of Shelby is may attend Fridays at noon or email president@shelbyncrotary.org for more information.
This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Rotarians, Scouts and others pull trash from the First Broad River
