![The Abacus team cleaning litter out of Columbia's Riverfront Park.](https://abacusplanninggroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Riverfront-Park-Cleanup-2023-1.jpg)
Protecting our environment is a conviction to be celebrated, not trashed. But trash – a lot of it – is what we found when Abacus team members showed up on a crisp October morning at the Columbia Riverfront Park on the Broad River.
The mission of the Congaree Riverkeeper – the river watchdog of the South Carolina Midlands, looking out for the Broad, Lower Saluda, and Congaree Rivers – is as simple as it is essential. “Clean Water. Healthy Rivers.”
We were more than happy to do our part and help keep our city shining as our firm-wide volunteer day. Sleeves rolled up, gloves on and empty bags in tow, we set out. By the end of the morning, we had gathered and removed over one thousand pounds of trash from the Broad River. Among our finds, plastic food wrappers, drink containers, pieces of fishing line and gear, a pair of tires and more and more and more.
Tiring? Yes. Wet? Yes. Dirty? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely.