Volunteers clean river in Vermilion Parish

Whether economic, recreational or simply those who live along it enjoying the view, the Vermilion River has an impact on this area.
However, all of those things can be negatively affected because of trash.
More than two dozen volunteers spent a few hours in Vermilion Parish Saturday clearing trash from the river.
“We had plenty of trash to pick up,” Mark Shirley said.
Shirley, of the LSU AgCenter and Louisiana Sea Grant, served as one of the project’s co-chairs. Members of Keep Abbeville Beautiful, the Abbeville Garden Club, the Abbeville Rotary Club, the Vermilion River Alliance and the Royal Rangers from New Life Church joined the effort. The Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Vermilion Parish Police Jury also offered support.
Two boats traveled up the river from Intracoastal City, while four launched from the dock on the La. 14 Bypass in Abbeville. The Royal Rangers took a pair of canoes to clean up Coulee Kinney.
“It was enough to make a difference,” Shirley said of the amount of volunteers.
Those offering a hand did face some small challenges.
“The water level in the river was low,” Shirley explained. “It made it a little difficult to get near the bank to get some of the items.”
Volunteers pulled plenty of “items” from the water.
“The biggest was a sofa,” Shirley said. “We found a lot of plastic and Styrofoam items.”
How all of the trash ends up in the river has various origins. Shirley said one is an easy fix.
“Whatever trash you throw out of your car or blows out of your car,” Shirley said, “a lot of that ends up in the river. You would not want someone throwing trash in your front yard, so don’t throw trash in our river. A clean environment starts with each and every person.
“If the general public would not throw trash out, it would be a cleaner environment.”
That should be a concern to everyone.
“It is a community concern that many people don’t think about,” Shirley said of the environment.
The river serves as a key part of the local surroundings.
“The Vermilion River is an asset to our community,” Shirley said. “From Vermilion Bay, all the way up to Lafayette Parish, it is a beautiful river. A lot of homes back up to it. It is a good place for recreational boating. It is also important for commercial activity. It just adds to the quality of life, but unfortunately some people think the river is a waste pit.
“When it is full of trash, it detracts from that quality of life.”
Efforts like Saturday’s go a long way in maintaining a positive effect on the river. It is not likely the last such effort.
“We are planning on at least making this an annual event, if not more often,” Shirley said. “This is not just about cleaning up the river on one day, but to call attention to the litter problem that can be focused on every day.
“We appreciate all of the volunteers and support we received to get this started.”
The ultimate goal is for there to be no need for such projects.
“If people would not throw their trash out,” Shirley said, “we would not have to do things like this.”