Dougherty County Public Works recently partnered with Flint Riverkeepers for a cleanup project at Skywater Creek. Additional volunteers for the project in-cluded the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as a few individual volunteers.

Skywater Creek is a tributary of the Flint River, flowing directly from Radium Springs, one of the several “blue holes” along the Flint River’s bottom. With recent storms, the creek has been devastated with debris. Crews piloted the first phase of the cleanup this past Saturday, which will render the area more accessible.

Between the tornadoes of 2017 and the recent impact of Hurricane Michael, many volunteers have been helping residents of Radium Springs and other parts of Dougherty County to recover and rebuild. Flint Riverkeepers officials say that now is the time to help rebuild the nature part of this community.

“We have spent a lot of time helping our individual residents, but now we are working our way to helping rebuild the spirit of the Radium Springs community,” said Marla Edmonds.

Edmonds said that Flint Riverkeepers seeks to be a “voice” for the river and it’s time to revitalize this natural resource that will in turn, rebuild the spirit of this historic community. With hours of work accomplished this past Saturday, Edmonds said that approximately two more days of work-ing the area would make an even greater impact on getting it back on track.

Individual volunteers were present on Saturday, as well as Dougherty County Commissioner Victor Edwards, Michael McCoy, County Administrator, Jim Wright with Rivers Alive in Lee County, David Dixon with Flint Riverkeepers, Opie Owens, leading the Chainsaw Volunteers, and others.