By Andy McDonald
Volunteers from Berea Municipal Utilities were out Wednesday cleaning up the banks of Owsley Fork Reservoir.
The effort was in cooperation with the Berea Earth Warriors, a group of volunteers who take on various community projects to help raise public awareness about the need to protect the environment.
Berea Municipal Utilities Director Kevin Howard said the city has been aiming to coordinate a clean-up project for employees when an opportunity arose to partner with Berea Earth Warriors.
“It’s something that we’ve been wanting to do with our employees, but Berea Earth Warriors already had this coordinated,” Howard said, noting the group has cleaned up some of the most littered areas of shoreline in recent years. “We’re just really appreciative of the work they do out here.”
BMU workers picked up litter on the Radford Hallow Road side of the lake, while Berea Earth Warriors will be using kayaks on Saturday to clean up the opposite bank of the lake, according one of the organization’s leaders, Mari Amber Melder Shaffer, also known as Aetheria Luna. Berea Municipal Utilities will be responsible for hauling the litter away once it is collected.
Shaffer said the lake clean-up is more important to public health than many people realize. “This is our drinking water, and the water can’t be healthy if the land around it isn’t healthy. If the land isn’t healthy, then what grows on it won’t be healthy,” Shaffer said. She added that the 2021 trash sweep yielded a ton and a half of waste.
While thanking BMU volunteers, Berea City Administrator Rose Beverly also praised the Berea Earth Warriors for raising awareness and positively impacting their community.
“We would like to thank the Berea Earth Warriors for their efforts and dedication in maintaining the beauty and high water quality of the reservoir,” Beverly said.
Meanwhile, BMU Purchasing Agent Allison Reynolds said she was happy to have the chance to volunteer for the clean-up.
“I love Owsley Fork,” Reynolds said, commenting on the beauty of the site. “We’ve got to keep it that way.”
