PROJECT #59

LSU ALTERNATIVE SPRING BREAK 2025

March 2-5, 2025  | Memphis, TN | McKellar Lake & Nonconnah Creek

$5,000

donated to support LSU student's trip

42,820 lbs

trash removed from the shoreline

4

miles of shorelines cleaned up on Nonconnah Creek and McKellar Lake

LSU Students Spend Mardi Gras Break Cleaning Up McKellar Lake

Seven Louisiana State University students, led by Dean Clint Willson and Kay Willson headed to Memphis, Tennessee to spend their LSU Mardi Gras break with the Living Lands & Waters team as they kicked off their 2025 Alternative Spring Break college cleanup. Over the course of three and a half days, they pulled thousands of pounds of trash out of local tributaries to the Mississippi River and participated in educational lunch sessions. 

While each day new and surprising things were found from a broken tail light, to a champagne bottle and brand new baseballs, a common theme picked up was plastic water bottles, tires, and a lot of styrofoam.   

The trip reinforced the idea of community connections to water, said LSU College of the Coast & Environment Dean Clint Willson, who led the LSU students. “Rivers connect us. Water that enters the Mississippi in Memphis flows past the LSU campus and out into the Gulf. Picking up trash on a river clean up like this one not only reminds us of the importance of caring for our shared resource, it demonstrates how closely connected we all are.” 

The cleanup was hosted by the environmental nonprofit Living Lands & Waters and made possible by the support of Rivers are Life and the Dow Foundation.

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THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

  • When initially looking into Living Lands and Waters, I read a lot of information about the success they were having on the Mississippi with their trash pickup events. I was excited by the idea of being a part of a group that would make a tangible impact on the river, so I signed up!

    Katherine Aranda

    Undergraduate Student,

    Louisiana State University

  • Rivers connect us. Water that enters the Mississippi in Memphis flows past the LSU campus and out into the Gulf. Picking up trash on a river clean up like this one not only reminds us of the importance of caring for our shared resource, it demonstrates how closely connected we all are.

    Clint Willson

    Dean of the College of the Coast & Environment

    Louisiana State University

  • The environmental mindset can become overwhelming; you become so focused on solving the big picture that you feel like you can never make a difference. It was a nice reminder that something as simple as picking up trash is helping fix the environmental issues we face!

    Ian Frick

    Undergraduate Student,

    Louisiana State University

  • This trip was a reminder that the little things add up, as the thousands of pounds of trash we helped pick up were the result of individual, seemingly small, events, [such as:] stormwater runoff, littering, overflow of garbage cans, illegal dumping, etc. However, participating in events like river cleanups supports the recovery of our waterways while solutions to the root causes of the issue are explored.

    Nia Sampson

    Undergraduate Student,

    Louisiana State University

  • I was completely surprised by the amount of trash removed. There was much more than I imagined. There were also many items that I didn't expect to be there.

    Naveah Barriere

    Undergraduate Student,

    Louisiana State University