Ijams River Rescue needs volunteer site captains for annual cleanup March 28

KNOXVILLE - Ijams Nature Center is looking for volunteer site captains for its 31st annual Ijams River Rescue, scheduled for Saturday, March 28, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“We need to add 30 additional site captains to be able to reach more areas,” said Ijams Education Administrative Coordinator Lauren Bird. “Site captains are crucial because they keep each site running smoothly and help address any issues that arise.”

A site captain’s duties range from checking in volunteers and going over safety procedures to handing out snacks and completing a brief cleanup report. There are one to two site captains at each location. These volunteers receive training prior to the event.

Ijams River Rescue, now in its 31st year, draws between 600-800 volunteers annually and removes between 10-40 tons of trash from the river’s shorelines and its tributary creeks.

“In 2019, about 700 volunteers removed 33 tons of garbage from 34 sites in Knox, Blount, Loudon and Anderson counties,” Bird said. “A site captain’s work isn’t terribly strenuous or hard, but they determine how many sites can be cleaned up. If you have a friend, spouse or partner, you can volunteer as co-captains, which will make it more fun.”

For details about Ijams River Rescue or to volunteer to be a site captain, contact Lauren Bird at lbird@ijams.org or 865-577-4717, ext. 135. A general call for cleanup volunteers will be issued at a later date.

Ijams Nature Center is a nonprofit, 315-acre educational nature center for all ages, abilities and walks of life. Ijams’ mission is to encourage stewardship of the natural world by providing an urban greenspace for people to learn about and enjoy the outdoors through engaging experiences. Located just three miles from downtown Knoxville, Ijams features 12 miles of hiking and mixed-use trails, a public access river dock, swimming, boating, biking and more.

The center offers hundreds of educational programs annually, from school field trips and off-site programs to on-site outdoor and classroom education programs that focus on topics from birding and wildflowers to yoga hikes, cooking classes and art programs.

The Ijams grounds and trails are open every day from 8 a.m. until dusk. The Visitor Center is open Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Published January 25, 2020