As the weather continues to get warmer more people will head outdoors, and it’s important to remember to pick up after yourself. 

Dallas County Conservation Board Outreach Coordinator Sarah Gilchrist says as it has warmed up she has spent more time outdoors and has been surprised about how much trash is out in Dallas County areas. 

“I have honestly been kind of shocked at the amount of trash that people are just seemingly carelessly throwing around out there. Now I know it has been super windy this spring and so some of that stuff might be coming from other places, blowing in. but it really does make an impact on the habitat for the wildlife that are in those rivers.”

Gilchrist tells Raccoon Valley Radio it isn’t just the trash that is out in the habitat but also runoff and when people are dumping things down sewer drains and it’s an important topic to think about. 

“There has been articles in the paper about the quality of the water of the Raccoon River and how that is impacting the quality of that. So, it’s really something that couldn’t be a more important topic nowadays.”

Gilchrist says The Watershed Awareness River Expedition (AWARE) will come to the Raccoon River in July to clean 63-miles of the river.