Keep Covington Beautiful (KCB) is sponsoring its annual Bogue Falaya River Sweep, a litter clean-up on the Bogue Falaya River, on Saturday September 21st, as part of the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup Day. KCB will partner with the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF), local coordinator for the nationwide event, and the City of Covington for the event.
KCB invites volunteers to bring their canoes and kayaks to the Menetre (4th Avenue) Boat Launch at 8:00 a.m. KCB will provide trash bags, gloves and litter grabbers for the paddlers, who will collect litter in and along the river from the boat launch to the Boston Street Bridge and back to Bogue Falaya Park.
This year following the clean-up will be a fun new event, the Covington Clean & Green River Run canoe and kayak races! The races will benefit KCB’s major project, the Blue Swamp Creek Nature Trail located at the Covington Recreation Complex. In addition to the nature trail, race proceeds will support KCB’s many other projects: tree give-aways, educational seminars, planting downtown planters and recycling at local events, such as the Three Rivers Art Festival.
Paddlers and volunteers interested in helping with the clean-up or participating in the races are asked to sign up by September 16th by contacting KCB. A limited number of canoes and kayaks will be available for both of the events. They will be assigned as paddlers sign up. Event day volunteers and paddlers are always welcome but canoe/kayak availability cannot be guaranteed. Race entry forms with race divisions and race sponsorship opportunities are available at www.keepcovingtonbeautiful,org or by contacting KCB. Race entry forms, with payment by check only, can be submitted to KCB by mail or dropped off at Campbell’s Coffee & Tea, 516 S Tyler St. KCB can be contacted by phone at 985-867-3652 or email at kcb@covla.com.
Please Note For Both Events: Personal flotation devices are required for all paddlers. Youth under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent/guardian or if part of a group, by the organization’s authorized adult sponsor. All paddlers will be required to sign a waiver before participating in either event.
Volunteers are needed to assist with signing in the paddlers at the boat launch, with setting up the picnic, with helping paddlers unload their catch at the park, as well as with the race. All volunteers, clean-up paddlers and race participants are invited to a picnic at Bogue Falaya Park small pavilion following the races.
Prizes will be given for the largest item and the most unusual item collected in the clean-up and to winners of all race divisions.
Everyone is invited to come by the park to watch the events, to meet KCB members and volunteers and to learn how to get involved with KCB’s beautification, environmental education, recycling and litter prevention efforts.
As much as eighty percent of all litter and debris in our oceans, rivers and lakes originates on land, carried there by wind and storm water run-off. The Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (LPBF) has been working in the Bogue Falaya watershed since 2002. Over the years, they have monitored water quality and addressed hundreds of sources of pollution entering the watershed. The Bogue Falaya was removed from the Impaired Waterbodies List for fecal coliform in 2008. The rivers that define the city of Covington are essential to its unique character. Join KCB to help keep our portion of this scenic river clean!
