Under clear autumn skies, children scrambled along the banks of Stinson Creek in Fulton gathering trash Sunday afternoon.
As participants in the Fulton Stream Team's second annual Scream Clean, their hard work didn't go unrewarded. Children could trade trash and trivia answers for candy at several points along the trail.
"We had over 50 participants, which is down a little from last year," Scott Carlson, a Stream Team member, said.
In addition to candy and trash, kids picked up knowledge. Scholastic Books donated enough books to cover three picnic tables. Children chose from picture books like "Charlie Goes to School," "Owl Diaries" and "Crow Call."
"I loved seeing the kids smile, knowing they have brand new books to read tonight," said Stream Team member Doreen Houck.
She added that the team will bring the leftover books to their future events.
Volunteers manned two education stations about stream life and the watershed.
"(The kids) were all pretty involved," said volunteer Emily Davidson, a biology and transnational studies major at Westminster College. "They were more interested in the size of the bugs than what they do for the water, but any time kids are more interested in a poster than candy, you're doing well."
One parent said she appreciated the chance to teach her children about the importance of caring for local natural resources.
"We're out here a lot, and we pick up trash whenever we come out here," Jennifer Bell said. "Also, it's good to let them get some walking in. More people should come, that's for sure."
She added learning about rain barrels was fun.
The kids seemed to be enjoying themselves - and absorbing good lessons.
"If we help pick up trash, it will keep the Earth clean," said young participant Elissa Bucholz.
Her friend Isaah Bigsby agreed.
"I learned how to take care of the animals," she said.
Carlson said despite the lower turnout, Scream Clean 2017 was a success. "They picked up about 15 pounds of trash," he said. "But this is less about the trash and more about the education and awareness."
Scream Clean is now officially an annual event, he added, and will be returning in 2018.