PRESS RELEASE – The Clean Water Challenge: Caring for Community and World

For Immediate Release – May 5, 2010

WildPlaces is a community based non-profit organization located in Springville, California in the foothills of the Southern Sierra Nevada Mountains. Our mission is to preserve, support, and protect California’s natural and rural places and the people of these landscapes through volunteer-driven habitat restoration, natural and cultural education, and career development.

Recognizing the great need for river clean ups, restoration, and education in the Tule watershed, WildPlaces partnered with the U.S. Forest Service to create the Río Limpio/Clean River Water Program. During the last three years, other organizations such as the boy scouts, sports clubs, the boys and girls clubs, and other youth groups have joined the Tule River Partnership to implement 3-4 cleanups each summer.   These cleanups, which include garbage and graffiti removal and education of river users have made a huge impact on the amount of trash on the river, and has raised awareness about issues affecting river users and the community at large.

For our July 10th river-up event we will be holding The Clean Water Challenge: Caring for Community and World. WildPlaces and local church groups will be partnering in a community/global connection in a clean water challenge. Local churches will be asked to raise funding for our July 10th clean up event and receive pledges for bags of trash collected. The funds raised will go to The Water Project: a worldwide Christian-based non-profit organization focusing on well-building, well-rehabilitation and clean water in Haiti and beyond.

We are placing a special focus on church groups and church youth groups to connect clean water locally with clean water globally. If you would like to involve your church/youth group please contact Emily, Emily@wildplaces.net for more information on how to join in! As with all river clean-ups, however, all individuals and groups are invited to join in on the river cleaning events!

We also need volunteers for the first community wide river clean-up of the year on June 5th. All clean-ups begin at 8:30 am at Springville Park, carpool up to Coffee Camp area around 9:00 am and end around 12:00 pm. Join us for a free barbecue afterwards. If you or a group you are involved with would like to volunteer, please contact WildPlaces at (559) 539-5263.

Poster: CleanWater 2010 (print)
Poster: Clean Water 2010 (screen)

Mehmet McMillan
Executive Director, WildPlaces
(760) 447-1402
mehmet@wildplaces.net

Anne Taormina
Immersed in the Wild Service Learning Coordinator
(559) 539 5263
anne@wildplaces.net

Laura Linton
Director, Río Limpio/Clean River Project Coordinator
(559) 539 5263
laural@wildplaces.net

Emily Creegan
Río Limpio/Clean River Project Coordinator
(559) 539 5263
Emily@wildplaces.net