TX Master Naturalists and Keep Columbus Beautiful team up…again

Last April, the Gideon Lincecum Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists (TMN) approached Columbus Garden Club, sponsor of Keep Columbus Beautiful, to join its Trash Off Day held annually on the first Saturday in April. TMN held two events that day: 1) a riverside cleanup under the north and south ends of the US Business 71 bridge, referred to often as “North Bridge” and 2) an in-river canoe trash pickup trip through the Columbus Loop on the Colorado River, a 6.5-mile paddling trail that winds from the boat launch under North Bridge to Beason’s Crossing Park.

Following that successful joint endeavor that removed a trailer-load of trash from shore and river, the TMN group approached Keep Columbus Beautiful, to team up again.

On Wednesday, Nov. 5, an in-water clean-up crew of 4 paddled the river picking up trash along and in the river. Onshore, a team from TMN and Columbus Garden Club picked up trash from the north end of TMN’s new Adopt-a-Highway site at the boat ramp entrance off US Bus 71 down to the railroad tracks at Crockett. The site actually extends down to the block where Maria’s Restaurant and Columbus Hometown Pharmacy are, but the massive amounts of trash under the south side of the bridge took more time than hoped so a small team plans to clean the area from the railroad to the south end of the site later this month.

Coincidentally while the teams were picking up trash, Columbus resident, John Batla, brought his skid steer out and removed the sand and silt from the bottom of the boat launch that came in during the July floods. Many thanks to John who regularly maintains the boat launch for residents and visitors’ enjoyment…thank him if you see him as this is something he does quietly and without thanks for our community.

The collected items included 12 bags of trash plus a toilet, furniture pieces, fallen road signs, pop-up tent-frame, small fridge door, and some unusual finds including 2 burner phones, 2 unshot shells, and a handmade frog gig. One bag of aluminum cans was recycled.

TMN and the Garden Club will be teaming up again on Saturday, April 4, 2026, for Keep Columbus Beautiful Trash Off Day. Plan your own trash pickup or other beautification event in April. Note if you or an organization you participate in picked up trash or beautified a public space from September through November 15th, report those hours to Keep Columbus Beautiful by the end of November to ensure our town gets credit and future grants from Keep Texas Beautiful (report to Marian, 979 733 4343).