ReNew the New: An Approach for Regional River Clean-ups on the New River

In August 2016, the New River Valley successfully held its first regional river clean-up event in Radford, called “Fall into the New.” Four hundred volunteers and representatives from Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, and Pulaski Counties, and the City of Radford gathered together to remove four tons of trash and hundreds of tires over 10 miles of the New River. Why was this regional clean-up event successful? Much of the success comes from the river clean-up approach used by the ReNew the New Committee over the past 15 years. This panel will review why ReNew the New approach was used, lessons learned from the Fall into the New event, and how regional collaboration creates real impact in the community.