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Thank you to our Sponsors!
Presenting Sponsor: Shackleford Disposal
Platinum Sponsors: AWS, Amazon Web Services
Gold Sponsors: Intel Corporation, Matesich Distributing, V3 Companies Ltd., Open Roads Renewables, Leeward Energy
Silver Sponsors: Granville Kiwanis, The Dawes Arboretum, Village of Granville, The Grove by the River/Goodwill Industries, City of Heath, Village of Hebron, Licking County Health Dept., Licking County Recycling, Soil & Water Conservation District, Licking Park District, City of Newark Stormwater Utility, City of Pataskala, Union Township, State Industrial, Grace Services
Bronze Sponsors: The Safety Company, LLC, Etch Ltd., Verdantas, ms consultants, Branham Sign Co., GT Tire, Pataskala Dari Hut,
BECOME A SPONSOR: We appreciate our sponsors and can always use more support. Sign up online at the left!
2023 River Round Up Poster Contest
Every year, Soil and Water holds a River Round Up poster contest where students submit posters reflecting on water pollution awareness and encouraging others to join the River Round Up. This contest is open to any school aged (K-12) student living in Licking County.
Poster contest winners receive $100 in prize money and their schools receive a $500 scholarship toward advancing science and art projects. The winning posters are displayed at River Round Up Event sites and in promotional displays around Licking County throughout the year.
To learn more about the River Round Up poster contest, or to submit a poster, please click the button below.
River Round Up 2022: Poster Contest Winners
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Olivia Frew, Cherry Valley Elementary -
Emily Newell, Heritage Middle School -
Addy Karns, High School homeschooler
Event Committee
Community Members: Jim Kiracofe
The Dawes Arboretum: Meghan Douglas - dawesarb.org
Village of Granville: Debi Walker Yost - granville.oh.us
The Grove by the River/Goodwill Industries: Lisa Baker - thegrovebytheriver.com
City of Heath: Daulton Brown - heathohio.gov
Village of Hebron: Linda Nicodemus - hebronvillage.org
Licking County Health Department: Katie Beaver - lickingcohealth.org
Licking County Recycling: Andrea Krava - lcounty.com/rlc
Soil & Water Conservation District: Kristy Hawthorne - LickingSWCD.com
Licking Park District: Anne Balogh - lickingparkdistrict.com
Matesich Distributing: Mike Hinger - matesichbeer.com
City of Newark Stormwater Utility Lindsey Brighton - newarkohio.net/city-services/stormwater
Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalists: Lynna Kiracofe - ocvn.osu.edu
City of Pataskala: Alan Haines - cityofpataskalaohio.gov
Union Township: Paula Greene - uniontownship-licking.com
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History: The river clean up brought out hundreds of volunteers who pulled tires, shopping carts and mountains of trash from an 18 mile stretch of the river. Through their efforts, a river that had all but been abandoned, has seen a rebirth of aquatic and bird life. Due to the closing of a canoe livery and the changing of staff, the River Round Up ended in 2003.
Rebirth: After a break of eight years, several Licking County and City of Newark agencies came together to bring back the River Round Up in 2011. The recent clean ups have been very successful. In 2014, for the 20th anniversary of the River Round Up, our goal was to continue to branch out into the community and clean up more waterways throughout the county.
Now: We have succeeded by expanding the clean up to Pataskala, Union Township, Granville, and Hebron, in addition to maintaining the clean ups in Newark, Blackhand Gorge, St. Louisville, and Buckeye Lake. In 2015, Shackleford's Disposal came on board as our Presenting Sponsor. We added the City of Heath as a new clean up location near Hoback Park and The Dawes Arboretum joined the committee. For 2022, we are looking forward to another successful clean up, new partners and volunteers, and continuing to raise awareness about taking care of our waterways.
River Round Up 2021 a Success!
A huge Thank You goes out to everyone for your support in making the 2021 River Round Up a huge success!
Totals have finally been tallied (drum roll please!):
Trash to landfill: 16,400 pounds
Tires: 334
Scrap metal: 1540 pounds
Although we were down in volunteer numbers from 2019 (the last "traditional" event to compare to), we still pulled comparable numbers out of the waterways this year!
The Licking County River Round Up is an annual, county-wide river cleanup event in September on the Saturday after Labor Day. This community event brings out hundreds of volunteers who pull tires, shopping carts and mountains of trash from the Licking River and its tributaries.
Through this amazing community-based conservation effort, a river system that had all but been abandoned, has seen a beautiful rebirth of aquatic and bird life. The event is coordinated by the Licking County Soil & Water Conservation District in partnership with many local agencies and organizations.
