Chicago River Clean Up 2007: How I spent my day ...

If you take a canoe out on the Chicago River, you'll see it's on the comeback trail and lots of wildlife have returned to make it their home. Unfortunately, far too many locals still use it as their personal waste dump. Once a year, Friends of the Chicago River sponsors Chicago River Day and teams of concerned citizens dig out the garbage that's collected over 12 months.


For a second year, Tara Wilson fearlessly lead a group of us out on the water to pick up the litter that collects at a wetland just south of Diversey Avenue. (Thanks to Tom Westgard who took the snaps that document our efforts.)

From aluminum beer cans, to glass and plastic bottles, to spent butane lighters, to styrofoam cups, bits and pieces ...


From basketballs, to chip bags, to bike wheels, to used personal hygiene items that we won't mention, there was a lot to clean up ...


And with such a pile of litter, there's only one thing to do: get down and dirty ...


Tara was able to augment her wardrobe with one of the day's many interesting finds ...


Here's a good look at the folks up top who helped haul the bags of garbage out to the curb via rope ...


And the smiling crew below, possibly a little giddy from the fumes they had to inhale while digging deep into the muck ...

It was a very productive day -- come out and join us next year!