Volunteer river cleanup set for Thursday at Louise Hays Park

Volunteers will gather at 9 a.m. Thursday at Louise Hays Park, below the dam where storm-bent trees line the bank, for a river cleanup organized by the Texas Hill Country Trails Alliance. Volunteers should enter through Lehmann Monroe Park.

The effort grew out of relationships formed within Kerr Together and the River and Environmental Long Term Recovery Working Group, which has met since August 2025 following the July 4 flood and expanded its work after this year’s flood.

Organizers are asking volunteers to bring work gloves, sturdy shoes, protective eyewear, bug spray, a mask, long sleeves and pants, water, snacks, scissors, a hand saw, wire cutters, a pick and a wagon if available — wheelbarrows are unstable in the river gravel.

The goal is to remove and sort bagged trash and construction, metal and wood debris while leaving organic material in place for now, pending an evaluation of what should stay to stabilize the riverbanks and support new plant growth.

Thursday’s group will be led by Lisa Nye-Salladin and Pam and Brad Toelle.

Volunteers are asked to sign a waiver in advance, available at texashillcountrytrailsalliance.org.