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Letter to the editor

Group, cities ready for Clam Bayou cleanup

The Green Armada, St. Petersburg and Gulfport have joined for the massive effort.

By NICK JOHNSON
Published June 13, 2007

Temporary walkways and makeshift boardwalks through the mangrove swamp will help volunteers access the decade's worth of trash that has collected there and allow for its immediate removal. View graphic: Keeping your trash out of the bay
	[Times photo: Martha Rial]

Final preparations are being made by organizers from the Green Armada, the city of St. Petersburg and the city of Gulfport to prepare for the massive volunteer effort to clean up Clam Bayou.

Green Armada organizers are expecting about 500 volunteers to converge on the bayou Saturday morning in hopes of getting the trash problem that has plagued the area down to a more manageable level.

They hope this will be the first cleanup of its kind, but not the last. They have worked closely with both St. Petersburg and Gulfport and drawn support and supplies from a variety of local sponsors.

The mayors and city managers of both cities are expected to be present at the cleanup.

The Green Armada hopes this backing from the local governments and businesses, coupled with the manpower of the volunteers, will prove the right combination to get away from political quagmire and get things done.

"We find that everybody knows about these areas, but by the time you get done talking about things and complaining about them, nothing gets done," said Green Armada's Mark Maksimowicz, who hopes the cleanup can act as a template for more to come.

"If there's a trouble spot, or dump site, or any spot that's gotten out of control, we'll pick a date and clean it up," he said.

The city of St. Petersburg's stormwater department has been instrumental in cutting paths into the underbrush that will allow volunteers to access the blighted areas.

"It's obvious we've got a problem in the bayou and my intent is to solve that problem," said Carl Blahut, director.

The department has worked closely with the Green Armada in preparing for the volunteers, building temporary walkways and makeshift boardwalks through the mangrove swamp.

These will help volunteers access the decade's worth of trash that has collected there and allow for its immediate removal.

Maksimowicz said the paths should have little negative impact there. "None of the mangroves have been touched and these paths, hopefully, will be gone within a week," he said.

On the other side of the bayou the city will provide johnboats to assist with a waterborne cleanup effort led by Kurt Zuelsdorf of Kayak Nature Adventures.

"The majority of the stuff you can't walk to out there," Zuelsdorf said, who will provide kayaks to volunteers in an attempt to make the same progress in the water that is expected on the land.

Volunteers will be able to park at Thurgood Marshall Fundamental Middle School and catch a trolley provided by the city of Gulfport to the site.

Organizers hope that the majority of volunteers will arrive early and be ready to get started by 8:30 a.m. to take advantage of the low tide.

Sponsors will provide tents, snacks and water for volunteers and the bayou will be broken up into two sections. One will be less intense and more easily accessible and the other will be for more hearty individuals.

Thirty city employees are going to be stationed throughout the area to keep people within a safe boundary and help remove the bags. Emergency Medical Services and a police officer will also be on site.

Volunteers can sign up before the event on the Green Armada's Web site or when they arrive. Organizers are encouraging anyone attending to bring gloves and wear boots that can make it through the mud.

Nick Johnson can be reached at nickjohnson@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8361.

Sign up for the cleanup
To sign up for the cleanup, visit the Green Armada's Web site at greenarmada.org.

[Last modified June 12, 2007, 23:49:46]