Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB) is seeking volunteers for four cleanups beginning October 1, 2022, that will be held in three states during October, which is celebrated as ‘Keep the
Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month presented by Oris.’
Volunteers will be taken out on five 30-foot john boats to clean shorelines identified with large deposits of litter. Each of the four cleanups will take place in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky
along the Tennessee River in locations that have been impacted by flooding, tornados, or both in recent years.
This year, Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month has a $15,000 title sponsorship from the international Swiss watch-making company, Oris. Each volunteer that participates will receive free swag from both KTNRB and Oris.
“Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month is always a big difference-making campaign, and we’re proud to have an international, water quality-minded company like Oris demonstrating leadership to others for this important cause,” said Kathleen Gibi, KTNRB Executive Director.
Last year, the company’s 42 employees from Oris’ North American office participated in a cleanup with KTNRB, pulling out 4,280 lbs. of trash. Oris recently reached a climate-neutral status after achieving net zero greenhouse emissions, meaning that Oris’ gas emissions put out are equal to or less than the emissions they save.
Gibi said that the celebratory month is often the ‘bread and butter’ of their trash totals and that the group is staged to easily reach their 115,000-pound goal for the year with the upcoming cleanups. The month will also include proclamations from governors and mayors across the Tennessee River watershed. Additionally, those who are unable to participate in a cleanup can still help protect the Tennessee River by making a pledge in KTNRB’s #Pledge4Rivers campaign during October.
“We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with KTNRB as part of Oris’ Change For The Better Initiative,” said V.J. Geronimo, Oris CEO North America. “By partnering for four cleanups in 2022,
we want to do our part to help keep the Tennessee River Beautiful!”
RIVER CLEANUPS
KTNRB is partnering once again with Living Lands & Waters (LL&W), a national nonprofit that cleans
North American rivers and who will bring three of their 30-foot aluminum boats, adding to KTNRB’s
two boats so that even more volunteers can participate.
The cleanups during Keep the Tennessee River Watershed Beautiful Month are scheduled as follows:
Saturday, Oct. 1 Knoxville, TN | Fort Loudoun Lake
Sunday, Oct. 2 Chattanooga, TN | Chickamauga Lake
Friday, Oct. 21 Hardin, TN/Iuka, MS | Pickwick Lake
Saturday, Oct. 22 Benton, KY | Kentucky Lake
Volunteers may register for any cleanup at www.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org/upcomingcleanups.
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