April 08, 2004
'Little Grassy Lake Cleanup' set for April 25
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Here's your chance to have fun on the water while demonstrating your environmental sensitivity: Join in the first "Little Grassy Lake Cleanup" from 8 a.m. to noon Sunday, April 25.
Volunteers will shove canoes off from the shores of the Touch of Nature Outdoor Environmental Center to reel in shoreline litter. Southern Illinois University Carbondale operates the popular outdoor facility, which wraps around portions of the lake.
There will be prizes for those who collect the most garbage, find the most bizarre sorts of trash and so on.
At noon, participants will enjoy a free lunch on the beach, where staffers will tend a bonfire and folk duo Carter and Connelly will perform their homespun music.
Organizers want to make sure they have enough food for everyone -- so please call a few days ahead of the event if you plan to participate. Ask for Erik D. Oberg, an assistant program coordinator, at 618/453-1121.
Touch of Nature is about seven miles south of Carbondale and just off Giant City Road.
Enhancing the learning environment is among the goals of Southern@150, the blueprint for the development of the University by the time it celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2019.