On August 14th, 2026 Keep Bartow Beautiful and Anheuser-Busch conducted a river cleanup and restoration of the rain garden at Hardin Bridge. There were a total of 19 volunteers, 1 Keep Bartow Beautiful staff, 1 UGA Extension Bartow County staff & 1 Bartow County Master Gardeners (MG’s) who volunteered for a total of 5 hours*22 volunteers= 110 man hours. Volunteers put in kayaks at Euharlee Creek and cleaned until Hardin Bridge kayak launch(4 miles). The water crew consisted of 12 volunteers, and the land crew consisted of 10 volunteers.
The “water team” began at Euharlee Creek and ended at Hardin Bridge boat launch. The “water team” consisted of 12 volunteers. The kayaks were rented from Euharlee Creek Outfitters. Zach Tyree (Owner ECO) conducted a safety briefing prior to the start of the cleanup. The volunteers paddled in kayaks and retrieved trash from the sides of the river banks and in the shallow water areas. The 12 volunteers cleaned 15 bags (300 pounds) of trash, 2 rafts, and one wheel out of the Etowah River.
The “land crew” stayed at Hardin Bridge. The “land team” consisted of 7 Anheuser Busch volunteers, 1 Keep Bartow Beautiful staff, and 1 Bartow MG’s. The volunteers weeded the garden area and cut back the overgrown plants. After the land cleanup and river cleanup everyone was served a box lunch from Firehouse Subs.
