Pastor Toni Lucas of Albany United Methodist Church submitted this report.
On Saturday, April 17, 2021, members of the Albany Riverfront Development Committee joined with members of River Cities Rotary in a cleanup project.
River Cities Rotary coordinated the Mississippi River cleanup in four Illinois areas: Albany, Cordova, Port Byron, and Rapids City.
As part of that citizen science initiative, volunteers used a Marine Debris Tracker App, to log what was found and where it was found.
In conjunction with the University of Georgia, this event was co-sponsored by the Mississippi Rivers Runs Through US Rotary Initiative; United Nations Environment Programme; Mississippi River Plastic Pollution Initiative; National Geographic Society.
The coordinated volunteer effort in Albany gathered trash from approximately one mile of shoreline. Their collection was enough to fill three dumpsters! Items included two mailboxes, several tires, and a door, among other more mundane things.
