Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and its staff will be hosting a clean-up, and this one will be after hours. 

Locals looking to help clean up the West Point Lake area while also catching the sunset, can meet the Riverkeeper staff Thursday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. at Pyne Road Park. 

“We are trying it [an afternoon cleanup] for the first time here on West Point Lake,” said Middle Chattahoochee Director Henry Jacobs. “We are trying to see if we can get a good group of folks out, who maybe some aren’t always able to join us for clean ups when they are normally scheduled on a weekday or weekend morning.” 

Jacobs said it will still be daylight when they clean up, but he hopes that the unique time will make way for new people to come join the clean-up opportunities. 

“We hope people can just come out after work and clean up our lake,” Jacobs said. “If people want to help our lake be as healthy as it can be, this is a good way to contribute by spending an hour collecting trash that shouldn’t be there.” 

The clean-up is free to attend and the Riverkeeper staff will provide gloves, trash bags and a quick update about ongoing efforts to make the lake and river as clean as can be.

To sign up for the clean-up, visit chattahoochee.org/event/west-point-lake-trash-cleanup. 

“There is an issue with trash, not only stemming from people using the lake but also from people upstream of West Point Lake,” Jacobs said. “So, there’s a number of sources for the trash that we do see collecting in the lake. It’s a problem that we can fix.” 

Jacobs said that Chattahoochee Riverkeeper is trying to fix that problem by hosting clean ups throughout the year, as well as educating the community. 

“We educate students, teachers and adults on our floating classroom program to help fix this issue and help solve this issue in the long run,” Jacobs said. 

“Everyone is welcome to come join us. It’s a good way to help out, but also just as to that get to spend time with other people who care about this issue and want to see it solved.” 

To learn more about the Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and its floating classroom or future clean-up efforts, visit chattahoochee.org.