Volunteers gather in Winters for global cleanup event

“Let me be the first, on behalf of the creek, to thank you,” Brian Keeley, Stewardship Program Manager for Putah Creek Council, said to a group of105 volunteers from the steps of the gazebo in Rotary Park. The volunteers had gathered to participate in the annual Putah Creek Cleanup, which is part of the global Coastal Cleanup Day event.  The volunteers ranged in age from young children to seniors. Some were Winters residents, many were from Davis, and a handful were international scholars participating in the Humphrey Program at UC Davis.  Before sending the volunteers on their way Keeley took time to thank the Solano County Water Agency and the City of Winters for their help in making the event possible. He also thanked ACE Hardware for sponsoring the event, and Nugget Markets for sending a team of volunteers with snacks for the groups. Recology, a San Francisco-based waste collection company, provided the dumpsters at no cost. From Rotary park the group broke up into eight teams. These teams traveled locations along Putah Creek. A few adults-only crews walked along Putah Creek Road. Other groups walked the trails in Putah Creek Nature Park. One crew even took to the creek in kayaks. By the end of the day, volunteers in Winters had collected nearly 5,000 pounds of trash. In previous years the total has been closer to 3,000 pounds. This year the trash collected included 105 pounds of recyclable material, 17 tires, one washer, one dryer, one refrigerator and 477 cigarette butts.  The most unusual item collected from Putah Creek that day was a Daiquiri Whacker, which is a small table with a built-in blender for making and serving daiquiris.]]>