A new Fulton Stream Team initiative pits one college against another for cleaner streams.
During the year-long Battle of the Bags, William Woods University and Westminster College students are encouraged to clean up the town. The college that collects the most garbage gets bragging rights and a big, shiny trophy.
"We're trying to start a friendly rivalry," Fulton's public information officer Darin Wernig said.
Stream Team member and Fulton employee Courtney Coffelt said she's tried to make the process as easy as possible for busy students. Here's how it works.
First, reach out to the Stream Team through its Facebook page (bit.ly/BagBattle). The Stream Team will supply a free T-shirt to participants, along with mesh bags for stashing trash and gloves to keep the ick factor down.
"I'll even bring the supplies to them," Coffelt said.
Then, whenever you feel like it, head out to the streets or streams of Fulton and gather some garbage. Litter can be gathered anywhere within the city, not just at Stinson Creek. Wernig asked participants honor the spirit of the competition by not putting household trash into the bags.
"I know students are very busy, so this is something they can do on their own time," Coffelt said. "If you have a spare hour on Sunday and want to do some volunteer work, you can go pick up trash."
She pointed out with most other volunteer opportunities around town, such as walking dogs for the shelter, students must come by during business hours. Trash, on the other hand, is always there.
After you've had your fill, take a picture of the trash and send it to the Stream Team, along with the pile's location and which college you go to. Make sure all bags are visible in the photo, because each is worth a point for your college. Items too big to fit in a bag, such as a tire, also count for points.
Once your picture is sent in, you can just walk away.
"Parks and Rec will come by and pick it up," Coffelt said.
The competition ends April 13 and will be followed by a celebratory picnic at which the trophy will be presented. Of course, by making Fulton a little cleaner, everyone wins.
"If this works, I'd like the college that gets the trophy to keep it until it's won away from them," Coffelt added.
She said having two colleges in town is such an asset to the Stream Team.
"You want the students to feel like they're part of the community," Wernig said.
The Stream Team has another volunteer opportunity coming soon: Scream Clean. The annual Halloween Stinson Creek clean-up is scheduled for Oct. 28, 1-3 p.m. Children get to walk between Seaman Field and Memorial Park, trading trash for candy and learning more about the environment. Wernig said the team could use more volunteers to hand out candy.