City of Wyoming Environmental Services

By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma

Tires — 22 to be exact — along mental signage and other trash was just some of the items Martha Stout Vermeulen remembers pulling from the Buck Creek during the first clean up.

Now in its fourth year, the Buck Creek Clean Up is an annual event when residents of Grandville, Wyoming, and Kentwood roll up their sleeves — with a few donning waiters — and spend a Saturday morning, Aug. 5, cleaning up a portion of Buck Creek which travels through the three cities as it makes its way to the Grand River.

The event starts at 8 a.m. at Wyoming’s Lemry Park, 4050 Byron Center Ave. SW, with a light breakfast provided by Biggby Coffee, and Marge’s Donut Den, and orientation that includes free t-shirts. Participants will head out in teams to look for trash and other foreign objects along a variety of Buck Creek locations.

“Last year, from the communities of Wyoming and Grandvile we pulled 80 bags of trash,” said Vermeulen, who serves as the president of the Friends of Buck Creek. The Friends of Buck Creek and Schrems Trout Unlimited host the annual clean up.

Buck Creek, which is about 20 miles long starting in Allegan County, is a cold water stream which holds a viable trout population, all of which is rare to find in an urban setting. For that reason, Schrems Trout Unlimited, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Lower Grand River Organization of Watersheds have highlighted Buck Creek as a threatened stream in need of protection. Two years ago, Schrems Trout Unlimited was awarded a $25,000 grant to assess the water quality in the Buck Creek watershed.

“It was warming,” Vermeulen said. “There was just ignorance as to what was going. There was a lot of fertilizers draining into the creek and other pollutants.”

The area focused on through the clean up efforts has improved with Vermeulen noting that there is trout in that portion of the creek where in other sections the water has become too warm for any fish.

But Vermeulen, who comes from an environmentally-conscious family and lives near Buck Creek, said the greater success has been helping people really care about their environment and their resources so much that they help to protect it.

“Recently, there was a Grandville school teacher who has students go to Buck Creek and do some testing and discussions,”Vermeulen said. “They then built a rain garden for the school parking lot.”

Vermeulen added there is all kinds of things people can do throughout the year to help the creek from adding trees to help shade it to construction a rain garden, which helps to absorb rain runoff that may carry pesticides and fertilizers applied to lawns and other plants.

There is also helping to pitch and care for Buck Creek by removing trash and other items that should not be in the creek.

For more information on the Buck Creek Clean Up, visit swmtu.org. For Friends of the Buck Creek, find the group on Facebook or email Vermeulen at erma00@sbcglobal.net. The clean up is from 8 – 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 5, starting at Charles Lemery Park, 4050 Byron Center Ave. SW. For those who volunteer on Saturday, lunch will be provided at Grandville’s Osgood Brewing.

University of Michigan Health, in partnership with the City of Wyoming Environmental Services and the Kent County Safe Meds Program, is hosting a Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“Metro Health – University of Michigan Health is proud to provide this service to the community,” said Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Floyd Wilson, Jr. “Returning unused or expired medicines is the responsible thing to do. Proper disposal of expired or unused drugs is a matter of public safety and public health.

“When drugs are thrown away or flushed, the chemicals in them can get into our water supply and soil. Additionally, it can be dangerous for individuals to use expired medicines or creams. By providing this service to the West Michigan community, we are all working together to keep our homes and families safe.”

All drugs are accepted at this event. They do not have to be in original containers. If they are in original containers, confidential bins will be used to dispose of those containers. The Wyoming Department of Public Safety participates in the event to ensure the safe disposal of the medicines.

Additionally, the Drug Enforcement Administration requires the presence of law enforcement at events like this. No questions will be asked of anyone bringing in any type of medication at this event. Furthermore, no paperwork is required and no signatures are collected.

“We hope area families will take advantage of this free service,” Wilson said. “We appreciate the support from our partner, the Wyoming Department of Public Safety, who join us in ensuring the proper disposal of medicines.”

Metro Health – University of Michigan Health has hosted Drug Take Back Days since 2011. Since then, more than 3,712 pounds of drugs have been collected from the community. In April 2016, 384.35 pounds of drugs were collected along with 60 pounds of mercury. And, in October 2016, 366 pounds of drugs, along with one pound of mercury thermometers were collected.