By Nika Colley, NACD Northeast Region Rep

A few years ago, the Saline County Conservation District’s local partner, Saline River Watershed Alliance, installed a piece of equipment called a trash trap in one of the local streams after noticing the need for trash catchment in the watershed. Inspired by the Watershed Alliance and the ever-present litter pollution in their local waters, the district seeks to continue this work by constructing, installing, and maintaining two additional trash traps in the county.

Trash traps are cages installed in a moving body of water to collect litter. Constructed on pontoons, trash traps float above the water allowing aquatic life and water to move freely underneath while collecting debris that floats on the water’s surface. In Saline County, trash traps collect up to 16 pounds of trash every 6 weeks. Considering the items collected are largely lightweight items made of plastic, paper, and aluminum, 16 pounds of trash is a point of pride for the organizations maintaining them.

To construct these trash traps, Saline County CD has partnered with a local community college that provides technical career programming. The college’s welding instructors seek out real-world projects like this to help students strengthen their welding skills. The instructors created the plans with guidance from Saline River Canoe, the organization that maintains the existing trash trap in the county. The students will construct the two traps with materials purchased using Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Grants to Districts funding. By partnering with this local welding program, the Saline County Conservation District can cut construction costs in half, allowing two units to be built for the price of one.

Collaboration on this project extends to installation as well. To determine the best placement of the traps, the district worked with the Benton Stormwater Team to determine high-need areas where the trash traps would be most useful. The Stormwater Team has also taken responsibility for obtaining proper permission from the city to install the traps.

Once installed, the traps need to be cleaned out every six to eight weeks. The district plans to primarily engage volunteers to complete clean-ups, with additional support from partners like the Saline River Canoe and the Benton Stormwater Team. The district will also be seeking to engage students, including those who built the traps, in cleanout events, since Arkansas students need community service hours to graduate. As Jenny Lanier, District Manager of Saline County CD remarks, “It brings awareness and [the students] take pride in doing so much good for conservation in our county.”

Saline County CD shows its dedication to community engagement through projects like these. Volunteers and partners have made this program possible, and the district continues to leverage this engagement for conservation education throughout the county.