LSU Students Make an Impact with River Clean-up

MEMPHIS - Plastic water bottles.  A broken truck tail light. And a lot of Styrofoam.

These are just some of the things LSU students pulled out of the water on a recent river clean-up trip in Memphis, Tennessee. The clean-up was hosted by the environmental nonprofit Living Lands and Waters. 

“Rivers connect us. Water that enters the Mississippi in Memphis flows past the LSU campus and out into the Gulf,” said CC&E Dean Clint Willson, who accompanied the students. “Picking up trash on a river clean up like this one not only reminds us of the importance of caring for our shared resource, it demonstrates how closely connected we all are.”

"Spending three days with Dean Willson and the students from LSU at Living Lands & Waters Alternative Spring Break, was incredible. Involving students in river cleanups not only restores the environment but also cultivates a sense of responsibility, teamwork, and respect for nature—lessons that flow far beyond the water,” said Katie Horning, vice president of marketing for Rivers are Life, which provided funding for the trip.  “The students showed their passion for nature and discussed how cleaning a river is more than removing trash; it's habitat restoration, protecting wildlife, and inspiring a community to cherish what flows through it."

The group joined students from four other universities and removed about 42,820 pounds of trash from about 4 miles of shorelines between Nonconnah Creek and Lake Mckellar. Both are part of the Mississippi watershed in Memphis.

“When initially looking into Living Lands and Waters, I read a lot of information about the success they were having on the Mississippi with their trash pickup events,” said Katherine Aranda, a second year Coastal Environmental Science, or CES, major, who joined the trip. “I was excited by the idea of being a part of a group that would make a tangible impact on the river, so I signed up!”

“I was completely surprised by the amount of trash removed. There was so much more than I imagined. There were also many items that I didn't expect to be there,” said Naveah Barrieré, a CES freshman who also attended.

Nia Sampson, another CES first year, said the pick-up reminded her of the impact individual actions can have. “This trip was a reminder that the little things add up, as the thousands of pounds of trash we helped pick up were the result of individual, seemingly small, events, [such as:] stormwater runoff, littering, overflow of garbage cans, illegal dumping, etc.”

She continued, “However, participating in events like river cleanups supports the recovery of our waterways while solutions to the root causes of this issue are explored.”

Ian Frick, a second-year student, said the trip gave him a needed perspective. “The environmental mindset can become overwhelming; you become so focused on solving the big picture that you…feel like you can never make a difference. It was a nice reminder that something as simple as picking up trash is helping fix the environmental issues we face!”

The trip was made possible by the river advocacy group Rivers are Life. LSU is an educational partner in Rivers are Life and the funding came from Dow Foundation’s Rivers Improvement and Preservation Fund.