By Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A yearly clean-up event this weekend will take place along creeks and streams in the City of South Lyon.

The 16th annual South Lyon Creek Clean-Up event will be held Saturday as part of an effort to help conserve and protect local waterways. The event is typically held in April but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic and safety practices will be implemented. The event is sponsored by South Lyon Area Boy Scouts, the City of South Lyon Department of Public Work’s Storm Water Management Planning Program and Michigan Seamless Tube.

The event aims to conserve and protect South Lyon waterways as all lead to the Huron River and eventually Lake Erie. Volunteers will remove trash and debris from local creeks, streams and waterways and also remove trash from different areas around the community. The clean-up will again be led by Larry Ledbetter, who established the community service project in 2005 while was working with boy scouts and for Michigan Seamless Tube. He’s the current Scout Leader for Troop 228. He says the clean-up event offers a good community service opportunity for the scouts, while Michigan Seamless Tube served as a good location to properly dispose of the garbage collected from storm water pathways that flow into the Huron River.

Ledbetter tells WHMI the event is both educational for residents and beneficial for the environment and they’ve managed to remove all kinds of things from roadways and creeks and have had a real impact over the past 16 years. He says five tributaries go through South Lyon and the various kinds of trash and other things cluttering the tiny creeks and streams is disheartening. However, Ledbetter says the kids love finding different unusual treasures and come across all sorts of things – and a lot of sport balls. He laughed that almost invariably every year, someone finds a toilet.

Ledbetter always delivers an informative talk about safety, the water environment and clean-up mission before teams head out for various assignments. Ledbetter noted they’ll be operating a bit differently because of COVLD-19 and won’t gather in a large group. He says he’ll hand out assignments to small groups and all safety measures will be in full effect. Ledbetter added they’ll be taking extra precautions as ticks are really bad this season.

The clean-up will take place from 9am to 1pm this Saturday and volunteers of all ages and skill levels are encouraged to get involved. Volunteers will gather in the truck parking lot for Michigan Seamless Tube off McMunn Street. Volunteers should wear rubber boots, bright clothing, long sleeves and long pants, and bring sunscreen and bug repellent. Those with rakes and shovels are encouraged to bring those although not required.