MOUNT VERNON — The Knox County Recycling and Litter Prevention conducted the 5th annual Kokosing River Cleanup on Sept. 19. At the same time, The Friends of Mohican held a cleanup of the Mohican River.
More than 200 volunteers participated, cleaning up 28.3 miles of the Kokosing and 9.5 miles of the Mohican. Paddle for Heroes, a local nonprofit that helps veterans and first responders heal by getting them out on the water, handled cleanup from Greer to the Bridge of Dreams with the help of Camp Mohaven.
On Saturday, the American Kayakers will clean the last stretch of the river starting at Zion Road and finishing up at Millwood.
Volunteers pulled 41 tires, including one 400-pound tractor tire, from the Mohican River and 56 tires from the Kokosing River. All of the tires were recycled.
The Knox County Foundation provided a $3,000 grant to cover trash pickup, transportation and T-shirts. CES Credit Union also provided $500 for T-shirts. Knox County Recycling and Litter Prevention provided lunches, gloves, face masks, and water for all participants.
“We really appreciate all of the volunteers and sponsors for making this an amazing cleanup in a time of uncertainty due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Randy Canterbury, manager of Knox County Recycling and Litter Prevention. “The human spirit of ‘We are all in this together!’ was shown in the faces of those who supported this event.”
Due to Covid-19, Knox County Recycling was required to submit an event plan to Knox Public Health for approval to assure all volunteers would be protected from the virus. The plan was approved on June 23.
“The plan submitted was based upon the governor’s Responsible RestartOhio guidelines, and the event was not open to the public so that the event could be supervised to assure social distancing,” said Canterbury.
In addition to 6-foot social distancing, groups of less than 10, using hand sanitizer, coughing and sneezing into an elbow, and wearing a mask or face covering when in close proximity to other volunteers, the cleanup operated under the following Covid guidelines:
Launching and landing vessels one at a time with adequate social distancing maintained between individuals.
Boats provided by agencies and businesses cleaned and disinfected after the cleanup by the owners prior to allowing the use to others.
Trash roll-offs provided at six locations for canoe paddlers. When landing their vessels, paddlers will be required to wear masks and carry any trash from the canoes to the receptacle and provide adequate social distancing between individuals. Volunteers will gather up their equipment and disperse at the conclusion of the cleanup.
Individual lunches would be prepared by Subway and delivered to the site. Volunteers would practice social distancing during lunch and not congregate near any buildings such as pavilions.
Volunteers who are walking the river would be in groups of five walking on the river’s edges. Social distancing of 6 feet is required.
The following organizations participated on the Kokosing River:
Knox County Park District
ODNR provided canoes
Mount Vernon Nazarene University girls basketball team
City of Mount Vernon
Kokosing Valley Jr. Anglers
Knox County Service Center maintenance department
Knox County Recycling and Litter Prevention
Kenyon College
Boy Scout Troop 332
Paddle for Heroes
Kokosing Valley Camp and Canoe Livery donated canoes
The following organizations participated on the Mohican River:
Mohican Wilderness Reservation provided canoes.
Camp Mohaven provided canoes and buses.
The Last of the Mohican Camp grounds provided a staging area and transported trash and tires to the Bridge of Dreams.
The Friends of Mohican Committee
Knox County Recycling and Litter Prevention provided lunches, water, gloves, and bags.
DKMM Solid Waste District provided tire disposal.
Jefferson Township trustees provided trash removal from the Greer Landing.
Knox County Recycling and Litter Prevention is part of the DKMM Solid Waste District (Delaware, Knox, Marion and Morrow County).
