River cleanup at Wauwatosa's Webster Park: 'Jump in'

WAUWATOSA, Wis. - With trash piling up and polluting the ecosystem, volunteers joined together at Wauwatosa's Webster Park for a river cleanup Saturday, July 9.

From soda cans to plastic bottles and a lot more, trash floats down the river.

"You don’t like seeing trash. That’s not the way I want my kids to grow up," said Paul Thompson.

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With that mission and a pair of waders, Thompson worked to make the space beautiful and trash-free.

"It’s something we can do. Get out a couple times a year see, what we can bag up and get out of here," he said.

River cleanup at Webster Park

The cleanup was part of Milwaukee Riverkeeper's Adopt-A-River program. Thompson and other volunteers helped create a healthier habitat for wildlife while giving back to the community they love.

"There’s a lot more events. We’ve got another coming up in September," said Thompson. "We’ve got some waders – jump in."

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Volunteer Alex Mercer came with a group of friends to clean things up.

"Honestly, just help out, clean things up. Nature is ours, it was given to us. We have to do something to protect it, keep it alive, keep it around," Mercer said.

River cleanup at Webster Park

Thompson hopes, with the community's help, there will be less to pick up next time: "Don't let stuff go in (the river). Let’s throw it away where it should be."

The Adopt-A-River program began in 2017. To date, 135 people have sections of the river adopted to help cleanup the Milwaukee, Menomonee and Kinnickinnic rivers.