MEDFORD, Ore.– On the day before Earth Day, volunteers from across the Rogue Valley came out to celebrate by cleaning up the Bear Creek Greenway.
Organized by the Bear Creek Stewardship and sponsored by SOLVE and the Rogue Valley Council of Governments, residents gathered at six different locations along the Greenway.
From Ashland to Phoenix to Medford, individuals and groups came out to provide a bit of community service and goodwill.
At Hawthorne Park in Medford, groups found a variety of trash ranging from cigarette butts to even shopping carts.
NBC5 News spoke with one group made up of Southern Oregon Starbucks employees, who managed to fish two shopping carts out of the creek.
“We just wanted to support our community so we came out in a group in force and wanted to show our solidarity and help clean up and make things better,” said Ray Lynch, a manager at Starbucks.
Students from McLoughlin Middle School also came to help out and earn community service hours to support their local sparrow, Rayden.
“I came out here well one, to clean up the river but also to help Rayden,” said student Tobias Whitley.
Another clean up is planned for later this spring at Ashland Creek as a part of a series of clean ups put on by the Bear Creek Stewardship.
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