FAIRHOPE, Ala. — It’s been a year since folks of all ages gathered for the annual Weeks Bay Area River Cleanup. But those who improperly discard their trash have not taken a moment’s rest.

That’s why the 13th cleanup, scheduled for Saturday, May 9, from 8 a.m. until noon, is as important now as it was then. Mike Shelton, watershed coordinator at the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, said volunteers are needed to help pick up after others.

“Maybe it’s not understanding whatever you throw in ditches on the side of the road ends up in the river,” he said, speculating why someone would toss trash out a car window, or over the side of a boat. “It’s an educational curve we haven’t caught up with yet.”

The activities will be based outside the Arthur C. (Skipper) Tonsmeire III Weeks Bay Resource Center, next to the boat ramps at the Fish River bridge on U.S. Highway 98.

Volunteers will pick up debris by boat, car or truck from Weeks Bay, Fish and Magnolia rivers and their tributaries.

People willing to venture under bridge crossings are needed as well. Trash accumulates under and around bridges in areas inaccessible by boat. Several sites that need a good cleaning have already been identified.

Shelton said, “Some will head upriver a little ways and hit these bridge crossings. We do try to remove that material as long as it can be removed safely. We encourage them to be aware of nails and the weight of material.”

Among the items often found are tires, crab traps, soft drink bottles, bait containers, food wrappers and discarded building materials.

Some of the more unusual items recovered over the years included a large plastic motorcycle, a refrigerator, bucket seats, an air conditioner, a muffler and a person-sized plywood fish.

Along with the trash, some very toxic materials such as auto batteries, a gallon can of paint stripper and a jug of herbicide have been safely collected and disposed of properly.

“It accumulates on the shore and if you live there, you have to go pick it up,” Shelton said. But on some of the undeveloped portions of the waterways, the trash remains forgotten until the volunteers congregate each year.

Shelton continued, saying, “It’s an aesthetic problem and it can be a hazard. (Marine life) can be harmed by monofilament line, plastic bags and drink can rings. They eat something indigestible, and they can’t eat their regular food.”

He pointed out that the cleanup is as much about learning as it is actual trash removal.

Shelton said, “A lot of things that accumulate on the ground can be washed away by rainstorms. What seemingly are innocuous things like leaves that end up in storm drains can cause problems in the water. Stow your trash, whether you’re in a car, canoe, boat or kayak. It’s (also) a good idea to keep a covered receptacle or a bag on your pier, boat or at the beach. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Volunteers typically arrive back at home base around 11:30 to unload, Shelton said.

Lunch will then be provided free to all participants after the cleanup. Free T-shirts will also be available while supplies last. All registered participants will be entered into a drawing for a great canoe, and must be present to win.

Over the last five years alone, volunteers collected more than 25,000 pounds of debris from the waterways and bridge crossings in the Weeks Bay watershed. Shelton said that on average between 60 to 70 people turn out to help. Around 100 took part in 2008, he added. “That’s a great turnout for this event.”

Civic, church, school and other groups are invited, but individuals and families should also participate in the worthwhile endeavor, organizers said.

Over the years, cleanup participants have come from far and wide to give back to the environment that supports and sustains Weeks Bay. Many participate year after year.

The Weeks Bay Area River Cleanup is part of Alabama Power’s Renew Our Rivers campaign for the third year. The utility company is providing the T-shirts and cleanup materials.

The Weeks Bay Reserve, ADCNR Lands Division Coastal Section along with the Weeks Bay Watershed Project and its Citizens Advisory Committee, the Baldwin County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Baldwin County Commission, Greer Radcliff, the Fairhope Single Tax Corp., Bay Animal Clinic North, Weeks Bay Foundation, Baldwin County Sewer Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) provide support for the 2009 cleanup event.

The Weeks Bay Reserve is part of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, State Lands Division, Coastal Section, a component of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System and funded in part by a grant from the NOAA Office of Ocean and Coastal Resources.

For more information about the event, contact Shelton at (251) 928-9792, or by e-mail at michael.shelton@dcnr.alabama.gov.