 "Photo: Erika Rich, Daily Texan Staff")
More than 200 students and faculty volunteered along Waller Creek, collecting trash and recyclable goods during the semiannual Waller Creek Cleanup on Saturday. The event covered the campus portion of the creek, including Whitaker Fields and parts along Dean Keeton Street.
UT’s Texas Natural Science Center and Office of Environmental Health & Safety have hosted the cleanup twice a year since 2002 to help relieve the creek’s pollution problems.
“Rainfall washes trash down into the creek, where it builds up,” said Dennis Nolan, assistant director of the Office of Environmental Health & Safety. “We collect a lot of trash during both of our cleanups in the year, and we usually find interesting things like shopping carts or mattresses that people don’t want to pay for disposal of.”
Waller Creek runs from North Austin, through the campus and feeds into Lady Bird Lake. Although it’s in the middle of the city, the creek is home to an array of wildlife, such as the Great Blue Heron. According to Waller Creek’s Web site, the wildlife depend on the creek for survival and are adversely affected by pollution.
“Because a significant length of the creek runs through the UT campus, we affect it a lot,” said Karen Blaney, adviser of the UT Campus Environmental Center. “The creek isn’t just populated with animals — it’s frequented by many people, too.
“If we didn’t do these cleanups, trash would build to intolerable levels. We probably collected around 300 pounds of trash today.”
Some students were surprised by the amount of trash collected.
“There are so many areas along the creek that you wouldn’t expect to find trash in,” said business junior Arjita Shrimali. “But this is one of the few times we can really help on campus, and it’s important to try to keep the campus clean.”
Maaheen Ahmed, an anthropology sophomore and cleanup volunteer, said the creek was not as polluted as she expected.
“In Austin, people are more conscious of environmental issues and keep things clean,” Ahmed said.
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