AMES, Iowa – The annual Stream Clean-Up event, now called Paddle and Clean-up Rivers Around Town (PACRAT), will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 26 at either Ioway Creek or the South Skunk River depending on trash and water levels. Volunteers will canoe with frequent stops to pick up trash.

Registration for this event is required, and lunch will be provided. The event is co-hosted with Prairie Rivers of Iowa, Story County Conservation, Outdoor Alliance of Story County, and Skunk River Paddlers. More information can be found at www.prrcd.org/pacrat-2025/.

“Volunteers are needed to help clean up garbage that has been collecting in our streams,” said Liz Calhoun, Stormwater Resource Analyst. “This is a great opportunity to celebrate Earth Month by giving back to our community.”

The Resource Recovery Plant will be processing the garbage from this event. The RRP accepts and sorts trash from Ames and the surrounding communities in Story County. Metals are extracted and sold for recycling. The remainder is shredded by machines, and the burnable portion becomes Refused Derived Fuel (RDF). RDF is piped to the City's power plant and used with natural gas to generate electricity.

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