Valley Creek Cleanup Day set for June 21

The Valley Creek will get a cleanup on June 21 to encourage more kids to play outside. 

The event, organized by Selma City Councilman Clay Carmichael, will start at the covered bridge at Bloch Park at 8:30 a.m. 

Volunteers will be divided into two groups, one working downstream from the covered bridge, the other upstream toward Dallas Avenue. “And we will go as far as we can in a morning,” Carmichael said.  

Anyone volunteering for the cleanup should dress accordingly with clothes and shoes that can get wet, he added. 

“I grew up playing in that creek, riding bikes along the banks,” Carmichael said, adding “we still do that. The kids come with us.” He added that it has not stayed cleaned up or easily accessible, but it is a beautiful area.  

Carmichael said they see other neighborhood kids “running the creek just having a blast.” But he also noticed the trash and litter that has been collecting. 

Knowing that so many kids are still playing in the creek inspired him to create the Valley Creek Cleanup Day. “You look around and there’s cans and trash all down here. It just needs to be cleaned up.”  

Dallas County Environmental Service Director John Creel is promoting the Valley Creek Cleanup Day. He has explained many times in the past the dangers of the trash and household garbage, saying runoff from rotting food, soiled baby diapers and toxic chemicals from discarded household cleaner containers will leach into the water table and run off into creeks and streams, all of which eventually empty into the Alabama River. These poisons kill wildlife and what fish they do not kill, they make unsuitable for human consumption, Creel said. 

Carmichael pointed out how nice the area is with the parks and the creek for families to spend a hot summer day with plenty of shade. “We didn’t have splash pads growing up, we played in the creek. It’s where kids need to be, in the woods, playing in the creek.” He added, “It’s the cheapest splashpad we’ve got.” But it needs to be clean to be safe for anyone to play there, he said. 

There is more information on the Valley Creek Cleanup Facebook event page.