httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6oCnkNqsdw

California State University, Fresno students are teaming with RiverTree Volunteers on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 25 and 26, to participate in the Great Sierra River Clean-Up Days at the San Joaquin River.

Volunteers from the Fresno State campus and the community are encouraged to help pick up trash and other debris along the river bank and under the river’s surface. Last year, 118 Fresno State students volunteered in one of the most popular events on the university’s community service calendar.

The event is part of a service-learning class established by Fresno State’s Jan and Bud Richter Center for Community Engagement and Service-Learning three years ago. In partnership with RiverTree, Fresno State students and volunteers from various area organizations have helped remove approximately 32 tons of debris and 5,300 tires from the River.

“The San Joaquin River is a relatively unknown recreation area for local residents,” said Lyndsie Russell, a student helping coordinate student volunteers. “Twenty percent of Fresno’s water comes directly from the river. However, the area is also used as a dumping ground for tires, animal carcasses and household appliances and furniture among other things.”

RiverTree Volunteers is a nonprofit organization dedicated to maintenance of the San Joaquin River watershed by working with public land owners, educational groups and volunteers on public lands to educate the public on relevant environmental issues.

Volunteers will meet at Avenue 7 and Golden State Boulevard at 8:30 a.m. to carpool to the clean-up sites.

For more information about volunteering, contact Rich Sloan at RiverRich1509@aol.com or 559.696-2971 or Russell at lrussell21@mail.fresnostate.edu or call 530.941.0222.

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