Kayak Rental Businesses Hold Earth Day Clean Up

By Terry Gutierrez

Reporting Texas TV

AUSTIN, Texas – Rowing Dock hosted an Earth Day Clean Up at Lady Bird Lake on Friday, where volunteers could clear the area on foot or by kayak. 

The Earth Day Clean Up marked an expansion of Rowing Dock’s weekly Kayak Clean Up Crew, which launched last year. 

Rowing Dock held its first Earth Day Clean Up on April 22. (Photo: Terry Gutierrez, Reporting Texas TV)

Friday’s clean up was conducted in partnership with EpicSUP, another kayak rental business located along the lake’s east side. About 1,200 people registered for the event.

“[When] thinking about how we could really expand this and generate awareness for this program, we were like, ‘what better way to do it than to launch on Earth Day,’” said Kate Aoueille, Rowing Dock’s director of marketing and communications.

For some volunteers like Ahnika Thornhill, the task of cleaning turned into an adventure. She signed up for the kayak portion, and even though she had never been on one before.

“I’m just doing something fun today, [and] getting the Earth cleaned up. As long as I have a life vest, I’m totally fine,” said Thornhill.

About 1,200 people registered for the Earth Day Clean Up. (Photo: Terry Gutierrez, Reporting Texas TV)

Alongside Thornhill was Mirella Yañez, whose first two-hour shift was so productive she made plans for a second round later in the day.

“I’m actually probably gonna come back later with someone that I met on Tinder, so we might hit it off. I don’t know! I’m really excited about that,” Yañez said.

Rowing Dock’s Kayak Clean Up Crew has gathered about 4,000 pounds of trash in total through its weekly events. Volunteers meet every Saturday from 9-11 A.M. Rowing Dock provides supplies including trash bags, grabbers and gloves. Anyone interested can sign up on their website.

At the end of their two-hour slots, volunteers weighed their trash bags. (Photo: Terry Gutierrez, Reporting Texas TV)