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Animas gets earthly blessing

Great Old Broads for Wilderness helps bless our river

The Animas River was blessed in more than one way on Earth Day by students, parents, teachers and the Great Old Broads for Wilderness.

“May we all be protectors of land; may we all protect this river that flows through our hearts and this community,” said Shelley Silbert, executive director of the Great Old Broads, a national organization based in Durango.

Silbert and a handful of others from the wilderness-protection group and members of the public gathered at Santa Rita Park under cloudy skies Wednesday to bless the river with song and poetry.

Their melodies blended with the sound of the rushing water as they stood on the bank.

“The ocean refuses no river,” they sang.

In a separate event, about 120 people, including parents, teachers and students from Columbine Christian School, spent the day picking up trash along the river trail from 32nd Street to Walmart.

Now in its 13th year, the annual river cleanup is the school’s only fundraiser, and the students expected to raise about $15,000 to $20,000 through sponsorships, said Sara Powers, a parent and an event coordinator.

Students from preschool through eighth grade expected to fill 80 bags with trash along the corridor.

By about noon, the third- and second-graders had found a dead rat, a bent flip-flop, countless cigarette butts and beer bottles, Ethan Grey, 9, and his classmates said.

While the students enjoyed their day off from regular classes, they also saw the value in their work.

“It’s important because ... a lot of people around town like a clean river trail,” said 9-year-old Finn McGrath.

mshinn@durangoherald.com



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