WHO:  Friends of Fourche Creek with support from Little Rock Parks & Recreation, Audubon Arkansas, Keep Little Rock Beautiful, Keep Arkansas Beautiful, Central Arkansas Area Starbucks Coffee, Waste Management, Meadowcliff/Brookwood Neighborhood Association

WHAT:  Fourche Creek clean up event in celebration of Earth Day 2014

WHERE:  Fourche Creek access point located at 5207 Scott Hamilton Drive, Little Rock, AR 72209 (park in nearby lots or on the side of Scott Hamilton Drive)

WHEN:  Saturday, April 19, 2014 beginning at 9:00 a.m.

LITTLE ROCK – The newly formed Friends of Fourche Creek has issued an all call for volunteers to gather for a major Fourche Creek clean up Saturday, April 19 beginning at 9:00 a.m. In celebration of Earth Day 2014, FoFC along with several partner organizations and volunteers will work to clean up one of the worst trash fields in the 2,000 acre Fourche Bottoms.

“Our vision is a flourishing Fourche Creek Park and Water Trail where the residents of Little Rock can float past ancient cypress, fish, hike, watch wildlife, geocache, learn about nature, and escape urban life, all within the heart of Little Rock,” said Dr. Dan Scheiman with Friends of Fourche Creek.

Fourche Bottoms is one of the largest urban wetlands in the country, but this area goes largely unnoticed by residents. There are no foot trails or amenities and flooding, floatable trash, dumping, and woody debris can interfere with a float. Friends of Fourche Creek and partner organizations are working to change that through this and future clean up events and public education.

“Volunteers have already removed an estimated 7000 pounds of trash from the creek recently,” said Norm Berner with Friends of the Fourche Creek. “However, cleaning up Fourche Creek will only address the end result. Everyday litter, mattresses, barrels, and even old cars dumped throughout the City of Little Rock ultimately end up in Fourche Creek which winds its way across Little Rock and into the Arkansas River.”

“Keep Little Rock Beautiful’s Adopt-A-Street program allows citizens to not only clean up neighborhood streets but also to keep that trash from entering the City's drainage system which spills into Fourche Creek,” Berner continued.

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