The sun is out, and Durangoans are taking the opportunity to get outside and enjoy the weather. About 45 people including students, faculty and city residents turned out Saturday to spruce up one of the towns favorite attractions, the Animas River Trail, during the Fort Lewis College Environmental Centers second annual trail cleanup.
They pulled 746 pounds of material from along the trail route and out of the Animas River, including more than 287 pounds of trash, more than 95 pounds of recyclables and about 364 pounds of scrap metal and other miscellanea.
Its a way to get campus students involved with the community, all together on one project, said center volunteer Hannah Burleigh, who will be graduating next week. She helped organize the event with FLC junior Beau Kiklis. Its all volunteer, and it helped that a big biology class taught by professor Heidi Steltzer got credit for helping.
The strangest thing found? A trash can for cigarettes, Burleigh said.
Volunteers cleaned the area between 29th Street and Santa Rita Park, after being shuttled around town by Tom OKeeffe using transportation supplied by Durango Rafting Co. American Rivers, whose mission includes cleaning up rivers nationally, provided the bags.
The cleanup entailed both dry and wet retrieval.
A few kids chased some trash down the river and got it, Burleigh said.
abutler@durangoherald.com
