Pink-shirted volunteers flood Fort Worth to pick up litter as Cowtown Cleanup returns
Pink shirts dotted the banks of the Trinity River and several parks on Saturday as thousands of volunteers across Fort Worth sported gloves and trash bags for the city’s annual Cowtown Great American Cleanup.
The event marked a return to form for Keep Fort Worth Beautiful, which was forced to cancel the 2020 cleanup due to the COVID-19 pandemic. About 4,000 people registered in advance to pick up litter, slightly less than the 5,000 volunteers who turn out during a typical year, according to Avery Pesek, a coordinator for Keep Fort Worth Beautiful.
“This is our largest cleanup of the year, and so we’re really excited to get it back up and rolling this year with some changes to make it COVID safe,” Pesek said. “We are no longer doing an ‘earth party’ after the cleanup, we arranged contactless supply pickup and we asked all volunteers to remain socially distanced and masked and stick to mostly people from their household.”
In addition to high turnout at the city’s 10 hubs, organizers said they were thrilled to welcome a new addition to Fort Worth’s Trinity cleanup efforts. Thanks to a partnership with Adventures Unlimited Paddling Company, more than 20 kayaks were launched into the water to collect trash that is often impossible to reach from the river banks.
Teresa Patterson, a co-owner of Adventures Unlimited and a leader with the conservation-focused Trinity Coalition, was on hand to help guide paddlers and ensure their safety regardless of skill level. She has overseen several cleanups in Grand Prairie and other parts of North Texas, but it was the first time Patterson worked directly with the Cowtown Cleanup.
“Thankfully, there’s really not a lot of liabilities for this kind of a flat water paddle,” Patterson said. “It’s actually a good way for people to learn how to paddle because you’re trying to maneuver the boat to get close to the trash.”
After becoming increasingly concerned about the amount of trash polluting the Trinity last fall, Laurie Stelljes, an executive committee member of the Greater Fort Worth Sierra Club, began organizing an event focused on removing litter from the water itself.
Eventually, her list of partners extended to the North Texas River Runners, the Fort Worth Fly Fishers, Backwoods, the Fairmount Trash Pirates and Patterson’s organizations. But, after speaking with Fort Worth officials about her ideas, Stelljes decided it made more sense to combine her event with the Cowtown Cleanup.
All of the partners signed up to help on Saturday, and the city consulted with the Tarrant Regional Water District to include paddlers in their plans for the first time, Stelljes said.
“Our whole goal is just to pick up as much trash as possible, so it was fine with me to see the city take over and see how we could work together,” Stelljes said. “We met every other week to help them put together what the cleanup hubs would look like in relation to the water, and it was really great.”
Keep Fort Worth Beautiful, which focuses on reducing litter and beautifying communities, worked with neighborhood groups to distribute supplies and advertise the cleanup. The Lake Como Neighborhood Advisory Council partnered with Sunset Heights and Arlington Heights leaders to bring volunteers to Lake Como Park in west Fort Worth, according to Eva Williams, the secretary of the advisory council.
A live band played throughout the cleanup in Como, and volunteers picked up tickets for a free lunch from Hamburger Man and Austin’s Underdawgs. Over the past five years, Williams said the amount of trash in the park has decreased thanks to the city’s events, including annual “litter stomps.”
“It’s not nearly as bad as it used to be,” Williams said. “Efforts like these have really helped to keep it clear, and then our residents are just a lot more conscious, too.”
For Pesek, Saturday marked her first major event as a Keep Fort Worth Beautiful employee, though she worked for the city previously. Since moving to Texas, she has noticed the pride that Texans take in where they’re from.
“Fort Worth is a special place where we have a lot of involved people, and I’m so excited to be part of it,” Pesek said. “That sense of community pride is so powerful, and that’s why we do have such great turnout for these large events.”
This story was originally published March 20, 2021 at 2:31 PM.
