Scream Clean trades trash for treats

Gabe O'Neil, left, and Shelby Ward gathered a total of four bags of trash together at the Scream Clean event.
Gabe O'Neil, left, and Shelby Ward gathered a total of four bags of trash together at the Scream Clean event.

Four tires. A rusty tomato cage.
"Snotty napkins," said young participant Shelby Ward. "I don't know if they're snotty, I just grabbed them."
In all, families and volunteers collected 180 pounds of trash during Sunday's Scream Clean event.
During Scream Clean, kids gathered litter along the banks of Stinson Creek in Fulton and traded it in for candy. They could also answer trivia questions about pollution and Missouri's waterways for more sweet treats.
"What river does the water in Stinson Creek flow into?" volunteer Olivia Andoe, a student at Westminster College, asked. "The Missouri. That's my best trivia question."
The event was coordinated by the Fulton and North Callaway Stream Teams, including representatives from Fulton's engineering department.
"It's an opportunity to educate youth on the importance of a clean stream," said Scott Carlson, Fulton's stormwater inspector and engineering technician.
It's also an opportunity for the city to meet certain obligations it has to the Department of Natural Resources. Fulton has two permits pertaining to water usage and treatment with the department, and the permits come with responsibilities to clean up the creek and educate the public, Carlson said.
"Stinson is an impaired creek," explained Margot McMillen, part of the North Callaway Stream Team. "The DNR tests creeks and if they come up high in phosphates, nitrates, oxygen and other chemicals, they're called impaired."
The North Callaway team hopes to take a little pressure off Fulton.
"Fulton has the only water treatment plant on the Stinson, so they have to clean everything up," McMillen said.
However, runoff from farms and yards all over Callaway County contribute to pollution in the creek.
"North Callaway has the headwaters (of the Stinson)," McMillen said. "Maybe we can block pollutants before they reach the creek."
Carlson said if Fulton isn't able to bring levels of pollutants down, the city may face fines.
While removing trash from a single stretch on the creek won't have an impact on chemical levels, the real goal is to raise awareness about the problem.
"This is a cleanup day, and it's also an outreach," McMillen said. "We're hoping parents stick around long enough to pick up on the issue."
Volunteers included McMillen, three City of Fulton employees, six Westminster students and four representatives from Scholastic who handed out free books, Carlson said.
"I used to live in the Eco House," said Erin Perry, one of the Westminster volunteers. "It encourages sustainable living."
When a friend told her about Scream Clean, she was eager to lend a hand.
Carlson estimated about 100 people (kids and parents alike) participated in the clean-up effort. Besides just satisfying their sweet tooth, the kids learned important lessons about ecology and the importance of not littering.
"Pollution in the creek isn't good for the animals," said Jerzi Coffelt, as she sat stroking a box turtle she'd found.
Gabe O'Neil was proud of the four bags of trash he helped collect.
McMillen is already seeing results from Stream Team outreach efforts.
"People are starting to understand that this is water, this is important," she said.
While this is the first time Stream Team has hosted a Scream Clean event, it won't be the last.
"From what I can tell, we had a great time," Carlson said. "This will be an annual event."
In May, Carlson hinted, the Fulton Stream Team and the Art House will be holding an art contest themed around Stinson Creek. More details are forthcoming.