The Adopt-A-Stream Foundation
at the
Northwest Stream Center
600-128th Street SE
Everett, WA 98208-6353
Tel: 425-316-8592
Fax: 425-3381423
Email:
aasf@streamkeeper.org
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STREAM
CLEAN-UP TIPS
Before jumping into a creek and
removing all debris, litter, logs, and anything else that
catches your eye, ask yourself if you are doing more harm
than good. All stream clean-up activities should be
planned and carried out to help you realize your goal of
improving the environment.
Wholesale removal of all materials in the streambed can
actually cause damage. Pools form behind logs and other
large organic debris, providing shade and resting places
for migrating fish and other creatures. Even human-made
material embedded in a stream may be performing a
valuable function. When you consider doing a stream
cleanup, we recommend that you be very selective in the
material you choose to remove. A simple rule of thumb: if
the object is more than half buried and a great deal of
sediment would be stirred up by its removal, leave it
there.
Occasionally you may encounter some items that could pose
potential health hazards. If you come across 55 gallon
barrels containing unknown substances, transformers from
telephone/utility poles (these contain PCB’s),
syringes, or any other suspicious items, DO NOT TOUCH
THEM. Contact your local Health District Office or State
Environmental Department for assistance.
Before You “Get Your
Feet Wet”
Make sure that you have adequate numbers of people to
assist you for the area you intend to cover. Begin with a
small nucleus of people and hold a few planning meetings.
List tasks to be accomplished and the dates they must
begin and end. Assign tasks to people at the meetings and
follow up on assignments with phone calls.
The
following are key tasks to be completed before the stream
cleanup:
1. Obtain the property owner’s permission to access
your adopted stream.
2. Obtain a permit approval from your local Department of
Fisheries and Wildlife if required.
3. Arrange for garbage cans and bins at the clean up
site. Also ask people to bring trucks and wheel barrows
to haul trash and debris.
4. Find temporary locations for storing collected debris
near the stream and secure the property owner’s
permission for that purpose.
5. Arrange in advance for the ultimate destination of the
debris collected and the means to get it there. (Your
friends’ and neighbors’ pick-up trucks
generally work quite well.) If an entire community or
neighborhood is involved, your city or county solid waste
departments may provide assistance and free disposal.
Contact them well before the event to enlist their help
and cooperation.
6. Advertise the clean-up to your community. Send press
releases to your local media. You may end up recruiting
more help and support.
On the Day of the Clean-up
1. Pick a “staging area” and keep it staffed at
all times. Keep first aid supplies, water, and, if
possible, provide rest room facilities.
2. Have the volunteers sign in as they arrive. Get names
and addresses.
3. Make everyone aware of safety issues, such as:
work in pairs, wear rubber gloves, don’t pick up
hazardous wastes, lift with your legs not your back,
don’t pick up things that are too heavy, don’t
walk in the stream in water higher than your knees, etc.
4. Make a map of where people will be working and keep
track of everyone involved in the
clean up.
5. Make the volunteer effort as festive as possible.
Bring refreshments and other treats for when the work is
done. Take pictures of the stream and your volunteers
before, during, and after the event.
6. Keep the day down to about 4 hours.
After You “Dry Your
Feet Off”
1. Follow up by recording, in simple terms, the amount
and types of debris collected (i.e. truckloads or tons of
debris). Take photographs.
2. Provide this information to the media in a press
release. This last step will likely result in a well
deserved pat on the back for the people who helped in the
project and make the public more aware that we should not
use our streams as dumping grounds.
3. Send thank you notes to your volunteers.
4. Set up a “Watershed Watch” to prevent more
garbage from being dumped into your creek.
TIP
#1-00
Algae
Control
Are you
experiencing problems with algae in small lakes or ponds?
A recent issue of Organic Gardening magazine
(May/June 1999) reported that by using nylon sacks filled
with barley straw can severely retard algal growth. The
results have been duplicated by British researchers, but
thus far, the researchers are unable to explain how and
why it works. Organic Gardening recommends
practitioners use three ounces of barley straw per square
yard of a pond's surface for best results. Wheat straw
and corn stalks are also effective, but must by applied
at slightly higher concentrations. These methods are both
inexpensive and more importantly, are harmless to fish.
TIP
#2-00
Reed Canary
Grass
How can you
control reed canary grass growth along stream edges after
planting native vegetation? By using burlap sacks (often
available from coffee roasters), which works very much
like coir fabric, you can prevent reed canary growth both
cost effectively and safely. Simply place the sacks flat
around your plants, overlapping edges and secure edges
with soil.
 Streamkeeper
Catalog
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Steps of Stream Adoption
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