Thank you to all the volunteers who joined City team members this past Saturday for our latest Rivers Alive project – including picking up big tangles of fishing line, among other items.

The small but mighty team of high schoolers and families focused on cleaning up litter along the banks of Providence Lake, which is in the City’s Providence Park. There was more than usual due to the strong winds and deluging rains from Helene, which tossed unexpected items into unexpected places earlier this fall.

For example, discarded fishing line ended up caught in tree branches overhanging the shore and near Providence Park’s pier. A bird, fish, or other animal that gets caught up in or ingests such line could be injured or even die. So you don’t want loose fishing line just tossed haphazardly. Problem is that this is not easy to recycle. If you threw it in with regular household recyclables, it can complicate recycling processes (just like plastic bags) by getting ensnared in equipment.

But there IS a way to safely recycle fishing line – and in Providence Park, there’s a place, too. Fishermen can put their no-longer-needed lines in a designated tube-like bin on the pier that’s there explicitly for that purpose.

Fishing line was hardly the only thing these volunteers collected. They also picked up aluminum and plastic bottles, plates, even a kayak paddle – that and more debris to fill up five contractor-sized bags.

This effort was part of Rivers Alive, a statewide initiative in which people work to clean-up, beautify, and unclog waterways of all types. Beyond making such public spaces for amenable to wildlife, the annual effort also raises awareness about the importance of keeping Georgia’s waters clean. So if you missed the chance to volunteer in the 2024 edition, you can look forward to this happening again around this time next year somewhere in Milton.