Friends of Our Rivers

Tennessee is blessed with the scenic beauty of beautiful rivers winding throughout our state.  Warren County alone has more than 50 miles of river and creeks winding throughout the county.  These are: Barren Fork River, Collins River, Big Hickory Creek, Little Hickory Creek, Charles Creek, Mountain Creek, and the Caney Fork River.  Warren County, located in the center of the state, is surrounded by scenic tourist destinations, such as Fall Creek Falls, Rock Island Park, Savage Gulf Preservation Area and many more.  A beautiful river, the Barren Fork, runs through the middle of McMinnville and the
entire county and is the river from which our drinking water supply is pulled.  Canoeing, fishing and swimming are popular recreational activities on the Barren Fork River.  The City won a grant and implemented a Greenway along the Barren Fork River, which has increased the number of families enjoying the river.  Breakfast Rotary McMinnville built an Overlook on the Greenway as the Rotary International 100th Anniversary project.

Recently, David Snowden moved to McMinnville with his family to pastor a church and became a member of Breakfast Rotary McMinnville.  He was in his kayak on a peaceful trip down the Barren Fork when he began to notice the trash in
the water and on the banks.  Although the City and the County have crews that pick up trash along the roads, the parks
and the Greenway, there is currently no organization responsible for clean-up of the rivers or its banks.  It was obvious
from the pictures that the trash had been accumulating over a long period of time.  During the planning stages for this project, we learned that the targeted rivers for this project have probably not ever been cleaned.  The trash consisted of a rusting hot water heater, several other appliances, tires, garbage bags ripped open with plastic bags and debris of all types floating in the river. 

David took pictures and made a presentation to Breakfast Rotary.  He further suggested that the clean-up of our river become a project called F.O.R., Friends of Our Rivers.  The club members unanimously agreed and a committee was formed to lead the implementation plan.  Those committee members are: David Snowden, Chair, Michael Jensen, Co-Chair and Boy Scout Leader, Neal Cox, Rotary President, Rachel Killebrew, President Elect and Grant Writer, Susan Barrett, Vice President, Pat Bigbee, International Director, Charles Marsh, Past President, Wally Bigbee, Noon Rotary member and avid environmentalist, David Rutherford, City Administrator, Ricky Morton, Carl Davis and Tony Myers from the City Water Department, Rodney Boyd, McMinnville Electric C.E.O. and Noon Rotary Club member in McMinnville. 

The first section of the river, 1.5 miles of river from Pepper Branch Park to Rocket Park, was selected to serve as a role
model for other sections of the river.  On Saturday, September 27, 2008, the first "float" was completed on this section of
the river with great success.  The pictures illustrate the volume of trash collected.  Plans are underway for another trip in the spring of 2009.

• Future Plans beyond one year:  The goal is to ensure that the river stays clean in the future.  This project is not meant to be just a one-time clean-up.  Our plans will include trash containers along the bank at strategic points, plans for trash pick-up, signs describing the Rotary project and to ask for their assistance to keep it clean, educational and public awareness programs and periodic clean-up trips planned for follow-on years.
   
• Cooperative plans to clean-up other sections of the river:  The goal is to encourage other clubs to participate by adopting other segments of the river.  Breakfast Rotary will design the plans for the other clubs based upon the
  data collected and the experiences learned from the first section of the river completed during this first year of the F.O.R. Project.  This model will be used to expand the project to all of the river sections in our county and beyond.  There are 50 miles of rivers and streams in Warren County and we will assign the waterways in one mile segments; therefore requiring 50 partners.