OTWAY—The Friends of Scioto Brush Creek are preparing to partner with the Adams Soil and Water Conservation District, as well as the Lawrence Scioto Solid Waste Management District to provide yet another annual Scioto Brush Creek Sweep in coming weeks.

Last year’s creek sweep launched 12 canoes filled with individuals to clean a two-mile stretch of Scioto Brush Creek, removing discarded tires, furniture, and trash. As they paddled, they stopped along the way to pry loose tires from mud, excavate them from waist-deep waters, and even loaded a door-less, discarded safe into a boat. Folks were stacking their boats with trash and using careful precision to balance the temperamental canoes on the water of Scioto Brush to foster a healthier environment for the ecosystem.

The sweep is entering its 16 year after breaking a new record last year for trash removed and additional cleanups held on land in recent weeks.

“It was tremendous,” Friends of Scioto Brush Creek President Jody McCallister said last year. “This is the first time ever we only had to do half of our event and completely get everything filled up in terms of the truck and what we could haul off in one day. So, that was amazing.”

The group of volunteers met at the Otway Covered Bridge Park and then made their way to unload boats on private property that had been secured ahead of time. They then drove their cars to the end trail and loaded up in trucks to go launch. The midway point was the family farm of Gina and Larry Collinsworth, who not only helped unload trash, but provided water and snacks for the participants.

“Each year, a new section of the stream is selected to remove trash,” McCallister said of this year’s cleanup. “FoSBC members will pre-float that year’s identified section closer to the float date to make sure there are no safety hazards. We are exploring put in and take out locations and securing permission from private landowners to stage the event.

The event has been ongoing since 1997, with only breaking for Covid.

“Back in 1997, we met at Kevin and Barb Bradbury’s home and we were talking and trying to come up with a project to do. We were members of the Shawnee Nature Club and a few members wanted to step out of the social aspect and step into doing something more active. One person suggested we look at Scioto Brush Creek, because it is such an amazing natural resource in our own backyard and that’s where the idea started.”

The group quickly fell in love with the stream and said that they do all they can to educate people on its importance and strive to maintain it for the wildlife that calls it home. They educate local schools, host community events, and prepare hands-on practices like this sweep.

“The stream itself is an amazing, exceptional, warm water habitat in the state of Ohio and this section we had not swept in ten years, so it was a long time coming,” McCallister said. “It is home to a lot of rare, endangered and threatened species in this particular section and we were excited to get the trash out of there that needed removed so the area can be conducive to the animals that live in that watershed.”

When volunteers for the sweep are not cleaning, they are finding baby snapping turtles, mudpuppies, otters, and wild fish and birds.

While 16 years is a long time to navigate the waters of this cleanup, Jody and her husband, Martin McCallister, who helps lead the efforts, are excited to see it only growing in size and impact.

“It is amazing in and of itself that we’ve been doing it for 15 years and are only growing. The first year we did this, we, maybe, had seven or eight paddlers. This year, we had 22 altogether, so, it is growing every year. I think the most important thing is getting people on the stream that aren’t familiar with it. We had folks there from Waverly, a lot of people from Adams County, one gentleman from Cincinnati; not only were local folks there, but people further out, because Scioto Brush Creek has this Ohio reputation of being an exceptional warm water habitat,” McCallister said of last year. “Getting people on the actual stream and seeing the mudpuppies and even an otter is just, I don’t know, it inspires people.”

McCallister spoke on this topic recently, explaining that the sweep is a big way for the group accomplished their mission.

“Our mission is to maintain and improve the water quality of Scioto Brush Creek through education, awareness, and involvement of the local residents,” McCallister said. “The SBC Sweep engages participants in all three areas of our mission. Hopefully, after spending several hours paddling and working side by side with experienced paddlers and conservationists on this beautiful, high-quality stream, participants will gain an appreciation not only for the watershed’s abundant wildlife and plant species but take pride in knowing they did their part to improve the water quality by removing human trash from the stream.”

The sweep is open to a variety of individuals ready to make a difference, regardless of paddling experience. In fact, the groups spend just as much time out of boats cleaning as they do in boats.

“Safety is a key factor on the Sweep. Experienced paddlers present a safety and skills orientation for all participants before entering the water and personal flotation devices are required,” McCallister said. “Being an experienced paddler or swimmer is not a requirement to participate. We will work with all participants to partner less experienced paddlers with someone with more experience. All children must be accompanied by an adult.”

The FoSBC partners with the Adams Soil and Water Conservation District, who supply the canoes, equipment, and safety instructions, as well as Lawrence Scioto Solid Waste Management District who provide support by properly disposing of all the trash that is removed from the watershed by volunteers.

“This event annually removes a minimum of one ton of trash including tires, appliances, furniture, children’s toys, and other human garbage from the stream,” McCallister said. “Without our partners, this event would not be possible and we are grateful for the 16 years of cooperation between the agencies.”

Follow Friends of Scioto Brush Creek on Facebook to stay updated on their efforts and events.

If you would like to help in the group’s efforts to improve the water quality of Scioto Brush Creek, you can register for the 2024 SBC Sweep by calling the Adams SWCD office at 937.544.1010. The event is scheduled for Saturday, May 18. If water levels or weather conditions are not favorable for a safe float, the group will reschedule the event.

Reach Joseph Pratt at (740) 353-3101, by email at [email protected], © 2024 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved.