Ioway Creek Cleanup (2023) - Prairie Rivers of Iowa

Ioway Creek Trash Cleanup (2023)

April 29, 2023, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Meet at the parking lot west of Ames City Hall (515 Clark Ave, Ames, IA 50010) no later than 9am. After you sign in, we’ll have vans to shuttle to Grand Ave where the canoes will be waiting. We’ll float down to S.16th St, unload the trash from the canoes into a waiting dumpster, and then shuttle back to City Hall where there will be deli sandwiches for lunch and where you can use the restroom. It’s a short stretch of river so we should be done by 1pm.

Thank you tho all who have registered! Registration is now closed.

Update!!!!!!!!!!!
Conditions are looking favorable for a canoe-based cleanup of Ioway Creek on Saturday!
If you have registered, please let our Water Quality Specialist Dan Haug (dhaug@prrcd.org) know if you’d prefer to stay on land–there are spots where we could still use your help. Otherwise, we’ll make sure to have enough boats and life jackets for everyone to go two-to-a-canoe.

What to expect on the river:

This stretch of river does not have any rapids. Water levels are little lower than last year, but still high enough to paddle, so this video should be a good guide for what to expect. Two people to a canoe, use buckets for smaller trash, put larger items in the middle of the canoe. Some trash we can grab from the canoe, sometimes we’ll stop at sandbars and get out, so plan to get your feet wet.

What to bring:

– It is forecast to be cool, so wear layers. You may be wading in shallow water, so light-weight pants that will dry quickly are best, but shorts are better than jeans.

– Wear closed toed footwear that can get wet. We don’t want you stubbing a toe on a bottle! Tevas or old tennis shoes work well. Rubber boots are fine if you don’t wade too deep.

– A water bottle (we’ll have jugs for refills)

Optional:

– A change of clothes in case you get wet.

– A garden trowel is handy for scooping the sand out of tires or breaking open aluminum cans to empty them of sand.

– Work gloves that can get wet. We’ll have some disposable gloves if you need them.

– Sunscreen and a hat. It’s early enough that we probably won’t need insect repellent.

Last year we hauled out 14 tires and 1,560 pounds of other trash including 3 shopping carts, a tent, and two bicycles. Assembling the tools, canoes, food, and people was a collaborative effort involving Prairie Rivers of Iowa, the City of Ames, Story County Conservation, the Skunk River Paddlers, and the Outdoor Alliance of Story County. A few people got wet, everyone got dirty and muscles were sore, but we all had a good time!