Extension’s NWA Water Quality Program organizes cleanup series
Sept. 12, 2025
By Ryan McGeeney
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Fast Facts:
- 15 separate cleanup efforts scheduled between Sept. 5 - Nov. 1
- Register to participate online at uada.edu/litter
- Appreciation event to take place in November
(483 words)
(Newsrooms: Download graphic, photo of Maginot)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — With three major watersheds — the Elk River, the Illinois River and Beaver Lake — calling Northwest Arkansas home, keeping waterways free of trash and litter takes a huge effort. Fortunately, the Cooperative Extension Service, the outreach and education arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, has been at it for years.
As it has done each autumn for more than a decade, extension’s Northwest Arkansas Water Quality Program has organized a series of litter cleanups throughout the fall.
The next two cleanups are scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 13 — one in Bentonville and the other at Lake Fayetteville. The cleanups are part of an ongoing outreach and education effort that has been a part of extension’s mission in the state for more than a decade.
Jane Maginot, extension stormwater educator for the Division of Agriculture, said that much of the program’s thrust is to help Arkansans make the connection between litter in their streets and trash in local waterways.
“We try to educate people about how the litter that washes off our streets ends up in our creeks,” Maginot said. “People get to see that when they join the cleanups. They can see the impact it has on our creeks and streams.”
She said that prior to 2020, there was an abundance of “scattershot” cleanup efforts by multiple organizations that weren’t centrally coordinated. With the COVID-19 pandemic, however, use of outdoor recreation, including parks, rivers and streams increased significantly, and with it, increased interest in cleanup efforts.
“All the organizations up here were doing their own thing,” Maginot said. “So we put together an umbrella group called ‘Pickup Where You Play,’ which got started in 2020.
“It was so successful that even after social distancing went away, we decided to keep the umbrella group together. We were able to pool our media resources, impact tracking and prize giveaways.”
Maginot said each cleanup is tailored to the terrain, with some efforts focused on walking streams and creeks, while others get participants out onto lakes in kayaks or canoes. She said she and other organizers also try to schedule cleanups at different times and days of the week so that more residents have an opportunity to participate, regardless of work, school or other obligations. Most cleanups attract groups of 12-30 people, although the largest efforts have had more than 100 participants, she said.
This fall’s cleanup efforts, which began Sept. 5, include 15 separate events, concluding with a final effort at Fayetteville’s Lake Wilson on Nov. 1. A schedule, including dates, times, locations and sign-up opportunities can be found online.
Maginot said an end-of-season participant appreciation event, sponsored by Boulevard Brewing Co. of Kansas City, Missouri, will be held sometime in November. The event will include a drawing for several prizes, including a tour of the Boulevard brewery. Everyone who participates in a cleanup effort during the season is eligible to win.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas
System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is an equal opportunity institution. If you require a reasonable accommodation to participate or need materials in another format, please contact Jane Maginot at jmaginot@uada.edu as soon as possible. Dial 711 for Arkansas Relay.
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Media Contact:
Ryan McGeeney
rmcgeeney@uada.edu
501-671-2120