DuPage River Sweep, May 15, 2021

[Bart Durham]

The 2021 Dupage River Sweep will take place on Saturday, May 15th from 9 am - 12 noon.  This will be the 30th Anniversary for the river clean up event hosted by the Conservation Foundation based in Naperville. Below is information relating to the event.  The ISA will he hosting at least one clean up crew at Hidden Lakes Trout Farm Park on the East Branch of the Dupage River in Bolingbrook. We welcome our members to volunteer their services in any of the areas designated below.    Please come out and join us at 9 am at the Hidden Lakes Trout Farm Parking lot located at 475 Trout Farm Road in Bolingbrook.  Streambank restoration volunteer work will also be available here. The Conservation Foundation will be providing gloves, trash bags and clean up equipment so you are not required to bring anything other than yourself.  If you have any questions feel free to send me a pm or email at durhamlaw@sbcglobal.net.

 

DUPAGE RIVER SWEEP 2021

May 15, 2021 @ 9:00 am - 12:00 pm

Join us for the 30th Anniversary of this record-setting tradition!
Saturday, May 15th, 2021
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Help us celebrate THIRTY YEARS of keeping our waterways clean by helping us remove trash and debris from our rivers and streams.

The annual DuPage County River Sweep is a county-wide self-coordinated stream cleanup held each spring. The purpose of the one-day river sweep is to encourage volunteer groups to help “sweep our rivers clean” by picking up debris in and along the local waterways.  Over the past 30 years that this event has taken place, more than 9,000 volunteers have removed nearly 300 tons of garbage from DuPage County streams.  The first River Sweep was held in 1991!  Let’s make 2021 our biggest cleanup effort yet.

Bring your family, friends and neighbors and make this community tradition a group bonding experience!  We will be practicing social distancing and following all recommended CDC guidelines to keep everyone safe and healthy.  Join the fun, and make a difference right here and right now.

How It Works

Community Liaisons and groups select a section of stream and through their own coordination go out and remove litter from the area. Streambank restoration activities, such as removing invasive species and planting native species are available in some areas for those who prefer to keep their feet dry (see below).  Supplies and technical support are provided by organizations sponsoring the Sweep to help you coordinate your efforts.

To Register

To learn more about being a Community Liaison or Group Coordinator, read our Group Coordinator’s Manual.  Help us expand the Sweep to more locations by volunteering to be a Community Liaison or Group Coordinator in an area not listed below. Contact Jan Roehll for how to get started – It’s simple!

Individual volunteers may request being assigned to a group or may work independently in an area of their choosing.  Community Liaisons are available to assist individual volunteers the day of the Sweep as well. To learn more read our Group Coordinator’s manual highlighted above. To get started, view this year’s Sweep Flyer.

Pre-registration is required.

 

The following towns have Liaison Contacts for you:

Addison	Ron Remus	rremus@addison-il.org	630-620-2020
Bloomingdale	Joe Potts	joe@bloomingdaleparks.org	630-339-3570
Bolingbrook	Daniel Flinn	dflinn@bolingbrookparks.org	630-783-6570
Carol Stream	Greg Ulreich	gulreich@carolstream.org	630-871-6220
Downers Grove	Kerry Behr	kbehr@downers.us	630-434-5489
Glen Ellyn	Renae Frigo	rfrigo@gepark.org	630-858-6037, Ext. 6006
Hanover Park	T.J. Moore	tmoore@hpil.org	630-823-7500
Itasca	Mike Subers	msubers@itasca.com	630-773-2455
Lisle	Molly Garrow	engineeringconsultant@villageoflisle.org	630-271-4107
Lombard	Dave Gorman	gormand@villageoflombard.org	630-620-5765
Naperville	Jan Roehll	jroehll@theconservationfoundation.org	630-428-4500 Ext. 121
Oak Brook	Bonnie Gibellina	bgibellina@obparks.org	630-645-9544
Oakbrook Terrace	Craig Ward	cward@oakbrookterrace.net	630-941-1651
Plainfield	Jonathan Proulx	jproulx@goplainfield.com	815-609-6139
Villa Park	Robert Wagner	villagegreens1@aol.com	630-279-3499
Warrenville	Ray Ziemer	rgziemer@comcast.net	630-836-0086
West Chicago Park District	Mike Gasparini	mgasparini@we-goparks.org	630-231-9474
Westmont	Jon Yeater	jyeater@westmont.il.gov	630-981-6285
Wheaton	Rob Sperl	rsperl@wheatonparks.org	630-510-4970
Winfield	Gary Bernard	garybernard101@gmail.com	630-462-6074
Wood Dale	Steve Krych	krychsteve@gmail.com	630-400-0926
All other areas	Jan Roehll	jroehll@theconservationfoundation.org	630-428-4500 Ext. 121

Restoration Sites

If picking up trash isn’t your bag, help communities by restoring natural areas near waterways.

Please indicate this preference on your registration.  Adult supervision is requested for volunteers under Age 18.

Participating restoration locations include:
Hitchcock Woods Forest Preserve – Lisle

Hidden Oaks Conservation Area – Bolingbrook (park at Hidden Lakes Trout Farm)

Village of Westmont – Various Locations

Promote the Sweep In Your Community

Share this flyer widely to help spread the word in your community!
DuPage River Sweep 2021 Flyer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share this webpage URL: www.theconservationfoundation.org/sweep

Watercraft Training & Rental

Having fun on the water is a priority and learning to do so safely is paramount. Here are some suggested resources for canoe/kayak training from some of our seasoned volunteers:

Prairie State Canoeists

Geneva Kayak Center

Looking for a way to sweep the river while maneuvering a canoe? Here are two sources for rentals:
REI – Oakbrook Terrace
Geneva Kayak Center.

Sponsors & Partners

River Sweep supplies and technical support are generously provided by these sponsoring organizations and partners:

                 

     

    

The following municipalities issued proclamations supporting the annual DuPage River Sweep:
Village of Bloomingdale
Village of Itasca
Village of Lisle
Village of Lombard
Village of Roselle
City of Warrenville
City of Wheaton
Village of Willowbrook
York Township

 

[Kev-mo]

I'll try to make this one.

I really wish they would do this earlier. I mean they probably wait til it';s warmer and more comfortable but so much plant growth hides a lot of the garbage by this time. Along with poison ivy and other nasties having already emerged.

I guess it's good that's it's even being done and so consistently!

[Bart Durham]

Don't forget the Dupage River Sweep is this Saturday, May 15th.  We will be meeting at 9 am at the Hidden Lakes Trout Farm Parking lot located at 475 Trout Farm Road in Bolingbrook. We will have trashbags and gloves and items to pick up trash with. You may want to bring your waders and boots in case we get in the water.  No requirement to do so however.  In addition to trash clean up here will also be stream bank restoration work available for those interested.  I know of an area between Whalon lake and the north bank of East Branch that needs major attention.  There will be other groups there but look for me with the ISA hat on.   If you have any questions please feel free to email me at durhamlaw@sbcglobal.net.

[Bart Durham]

On Saturday, May 15, 2021 ISA members joined with  the Bolingbrook Park District and other volunteers from throughout the area at Hidden Lakes Park in Bolingbrook to take part in this year's DuPage River Sweep.  The rain kept the attendance numbers low this year but with rain gear on, those that attended were able to accomplish a lot of great work despite the light rain. ISA member Howard Miller and I chose an area along the north bank of the DuPage river near Whalon lake and picked up several bags of garbage, mostly plastic containers, cans, straws and the like.  We then assisted Bolingbrook Park District personnel in removing invasive plant species, like mustard plant and a purple plant (name unknown) in a  area along the DuPage River Greenway. The light rain loosened the soil and made pulling the weeds a little easier.  The rain picked up a little bit and caused us to end a little earlier than planned but it was still a great time taking part in this year's Dupage River Sweep.  Here are a few photos from the event:

 

[Bart Durham]

I also wanted to give kudos to the Bolingbrook Park District for the tremendous work they have done along the Dupage River Greenway trail that stretches from the parking lot located near intersection of Royce Road and Rt 53 to Indian Boundary Park in Bolingbrook along the East Branch.  Park District workers have cleared out invasive species plants and overgrowth on both sides of the river along trail that parallels the river.  A smallmouth fisherman can now have  a field day fishing this area with river access that stretches for miles.