“It’s Our River Day” Clean-up and Celebration 2010

Sponsored by the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County and the Village of Algonquin, at Cornish Park in Algonquin - Harrison Street and Route 62 on the Fox River (one block east of Route 31). Saturday, September 18, 1 pm to 4 pm.

Come celebrate the beautiful Fox River and help keep her clean at the 3rd annual “It’s Our River Day” Algonquin. Learn about the river and conservation, pick up trash & recyclables, enjoy live music and learn about safe fun on the river through kayak demonstrations.

The event will kick-off with two speakers, Debby Sosine, Village of Algonquin Trustee, and Gary Swick with Friends of the Fox River.  Following opening remarks, a kayaker from the Prairie Coast Paddlers will discuss and demonstrate kayaking on the Fox River.  At 2:15 the clean up will begin (gloves and bags provided by The Sierra Club). Throughout the clean-up, the Mack Hotterson band featuring local musicians, Alan Parquette, Eliot Levy and Randy Siewert, will perform.  The event will conclude at 4:00 p.m.

Since 2004, on the third Saturday in September, communities across Illinois have celebrated "It's Our River Day" by organizing educational, recreational and beautification activities along local rivers. Launched by The Illinois River Coordinating Council, “It’s Our River Day” is a fun way to encourage organizations, businesses, clubs, municipalities, and others to celebrate Illinois watersheds.

It's Our River Day Celebration, 2009
By Cynthia Kanner

On a beautiful September day, a group of over 140 joined together at Cornish Park in Algonquin for the 2nd annual “It’s Our River Day,” cosponsored by the Defenders and the Village of Algonquin. The day is a state-wide program that emphasizes the importance of Illinois rivers.

On behalf of the Village, Trustee Bob Smith welcomed everyone to Cornish park. Speakers included Gary Swick from Friends of the Fox River (FOFR), Cindy Skrukrud from the Sierra Club and the Defenders, and Defenders’ president Bill Donato. The main speaker was Jeff Jolitz, who discussed the history of the Fox River, including the history of the river as it relates to the environment. Mr. Jolitz historical talk began with detailed descriptions of various aspects of the river, such as its physical condition, conservation of natural resources as it relates to the river, transportation, water surveys, fishing, and population growth. Toward the end of an informative presentation, Mr. Jolitz surprised the audience when he noted that, what seemed like very current information and concerns, was actually taken from text written by the State of Illinois Rivers and Lakes Commission in the year 1914! He also noted that one of the most picturesque portions of the 140 mile river, was actually thought to be a section beginning at and below the location of our event that day.

The Sierra Club once again provided bags and gloves for the clean-up and snacks and water to help folks make it through the day, while FOFR educated volunteers about the group’s stream monitoring program. Representatives from two paddle groups, the Prairie Coast Paddlers and the St. Charles Canoe Club, spoke about their respective boats and clubs and demonstrated some paddling techniques, despite the shallowness of the river.

Those who attended and volunteered their time for the three-hour celebration included individuals from Algonquin and surrounding towns, groups from Woodstock and Prairie
Grove high schools, as well as Cub Scout Pack 151 and some children and their families from Algonquin’s Eastview Elementary School Earth Club.

Also helping out was the manager and crew from the new Cardinal Fitness, located in east Algonquin, who joined the day as a clean-up team. Their mascot, a giant cardinal, was a unique sight for the kids, who had a great time picking up trash, climbing on the outdoor equipment and skipping stones.

This year, the Mack Hotterson band once again generously donated their time and great music to It’s Our River Day. Some of the pieces were picked just for the occasion, including the tune by the Talking Heads, “Take Me to the River.”

Thank you to everyone who came out for the event. With the mix of people, school and businesses, it was truly a community event. A very special thanks on behalf of the Defenders goes to Katie Parkhurst of the Village of Algonquin for coordinating many of the logistics.

Thanks to all of you, well over 500 lbs. of trash and over 30 lbs. of recyclables were picked up!

It's Our River Day Celebration, 2008

On Saturday, September 20, over 100 folks from Woodstock to Hoffman Estates, including nearly 40 young people, gathered at the Fox River as part of the state-wide “It’s Our River Day” celebration.  With rain falling heavily the weekend before, several celebrations around the state were canceled, unfortunately.  In Algonquin, however, the day was a great success, thanks to the support of numerous people and organizations.  The location of Cornish Park at the confluence of the Fox River and Crystal Creek was the perfect place to celebrate.   

The purpose of It’s Our River Day, started several years ago by Lt. Governor Pat Quinn, is to honor and preserve the rivers of Illinois.  Here in Algonquin, the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County and the Village of Algonquin came together to co-sponsor a celebration of the Fox.  The day’s events included talks by several speakers, including Congressman Don Manzullo, Olivia Dorothy from the Lt. Governor’s office, Brian Dianis, Village of Algonquin Trustee, Katie Parkhurst with the Village of Algonquin, Cindy Skrukrud of the Sierra Club and The Defenders, and Gary Swick with Friends of the Fox River Monitoring Network. Following the brief talks, which focused on keeping the Fox River clean and conservation, attendees suited up with gloves and bags provided by the Sierra Club and hit the dirt, scouring for trash and recyclables.  What they found amounted to approximately 1,000 lbs. of trash and 15 bags of recyclables.  These numbers would have been much higher if not for the stewardship of those responsible for keeping Cornish Park, and thereby the river, clean on a regular basis.   

Many individuals and families came out to clean up, as did organized groups, including AT&T Pioneers and two Algonquin Cub Scout Troops – Pack 151 from Eastview Elementary School and Pack 155 from Algonquin Lakes Elementary School.  Volunteers walked along the shoreline, crossed the bridge to clean up the east side of the river, and walked west along Crystal Creek toward Towne Park.  Some of the more unusual items picked up included a sprinkler and an auto 4-cylinder engine block.  Some even had the opportunity to learn about water quality monitoring through Friends of the Fox River.  During the clean up, a local band – The Mack Hotterson Band featuring musicians Alan Parquette, Eliot Levy and Randy Siewert – performed everything from Van Morrison to Nirvana.   

During the last part of the event there were exciting canoe and kayak demonstrations given by the St. Charles Canoe Club and The Prairie Coast Paddlers.  Taking advantage of the calmness of Crystal Creek just before it meets the Fox, the two groups demonstrated paddling techniques and water safety, and drew cheers from the crowd with an Eskimo roll or two.  Out on the swiftly moving Fox River, the kayaks played in the rapids and demonstrated a rope rescue of a kayaker floating downstream without her boat. With summer-like conditions that day, a surfer also took to the Fox for some fun on the “waves.”   

With speakers, clean up, music, and paddling demonstrations, the three-hour event was constructive as well as festive.  The organizer, Cynthia Kanner, Algonquin resident and Board of Directors member of the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County, sends a very warm thanks to all of those involved, especially the Village of Algonquin for their co-sponsorship.  Everyone present did his or her part to clean up the Fox River while learning how much fun rivers can be and how vital clean rivers are to our communities.   

“The Sun shines not on us but in us.

The Rivers flow not past, but through us.”

John Muir