Wisconsin assembles thousands of “Riverkeepers” for record-breaking spring cleanup
Despite the chilly spring temperatures in Wisconsin, USA, hundreds of volunteers lined the banks of the Milwaukee River last month, as part of an official Guinness World Records attempt for the most participants in a river clean-up (multiple locations).
Dressed in their warm outdoor clothes, and carrying giant plastic bags full of waste, they scoured the shoreline looking for trash – as part of an annual Spring Cleanup that has become one of Wisconsin’s biggest volunteer events.
This year drew a record-breaking total of 2,082 attendees, and across the 22 pickup locations up and down the waterway, the group helped collect more than 100,000 lbs (45,359 kg) of waste for removal from the local ecosystem.
“Our teams are very excited to get this record, and this is definitely a milestone for us and will encourage us to keep going on our meaningful work,” said a spokesperson from Milwaukee Riverkeeper (USA), who arranges the yearly event, this time along with Tru Earth (Canada).
Established in 1995, the science-based advocacy organization is focused on creating swimmable, fishable, and drinkable waters in the Milwaukee River Basin. For the last 31 years, they have held this Spring Cleanup as a way to engage their community with the surrounding nature, and encourage people to clean up after the environment where they live.
Confident that they could take the title, before the event on 25 April, the organization requested that all volunteers register online and sign a waiver as preparation for the day out in the wild.
And once everyone arrived at their designated locations around 9:00 a.m., they were met by Site Captains, who helped direct them throughout the day’s activities.
Guinness World Records Adjudicator Tina Shi was also in attendance, and she helped count all the participants and make sure all the attempt guidelines were being followed by the excited participants.
“[I learned] a lot of professional knowledge from this attempt about protecting the rivers,” she said, adding that “the whole attempt… was very well organized.”
After everyone was accounted for, the attendees were given trash bags and instructions for what to look out for on their hikes. Parents relayed the information on to their children, and soon the sites were swarming with volunteers eager to help beautify their surroundings.
Tina mentioned that she saw participants from all ages at the event, helping to pick up garbage even if they were being pushed in a stroller or were carrying a cane.
Did you take part in this incredible environmental attempt? Purchase your very own customisable Record Participant Certificate at our GWR shop, and show off your record-breaking passion for volunteering to the world!
After the event was concluded, Tina was proud to announce that all of Milwaukee Riverkeeper’s hard efforts had paid off, and they had claimed the title alongside their partner Tru Earth.
An impressive total of 2,082 people had come out to their attempt, overtaking the record of 1,327 people arranged by Kate Strong (UK) and Dr Numair Masud (Pakistan) on the River Taff in Wales last year.
So congratulations to Milwaukee Riverkeeper and all their dedicated volunteers for all your hard work – you are all Officially Amazing!