Several students will be working alongside Baton Rouge residents on Saturday to clean up the LSU Lakes. The students, coordinated through Volunteer LSU, will help residents who live near the lakes remove trash, clear weeds and mow grass along popular jogging routes.
Parry “Matt” Thomas, president of The University Lakes Improvement and Preservation Association, said he was
approached by the University to coordinate a cleanup day during his work removing water hyacinths from Lake Crest along Dalrymple Drive. Thomas has been an integral part of the removal process for the water hyacinths, which is set to begin on Thursday.
The hyacinths, which first sprouted up in the spring and cover around 70 percent of Lake Crest, have now been spotted around University Lake as well. Although Thomas said he would like to use Saturday as a chance to remove hyacinths from the shorelines, his main focus is general beautification of the lakes and cleaning the Corporate Canal between West Lakeshore Drive and Millard Wampold Memorial Park.
“Corporate Canal catches a lot of trash that comes down from Baton Rouge, which is washed all the way through campus,” Thomas said. “Our intent is to get a canoe down in the water and scoop up all the trash so it doesn’t get into the residential area, and pick up all the garbage in the canal all the way back to campus.”
Thomas worked with assistant director for campus life and Volunteer LSU faculty advisor Josh Dean to organize a group of students who would be interested in cleaning up the lakes before the start of the fall semester. Dean said although the lakes are not University property, their proximity to campus means students should do their part to preserve the area.
“So many members of LSU enjoy the lakes, so I think it’s important that with any opportunity we have to take care of the lakes, we should get involved,” he said.
One of Thomas’s main goals for Saturday’s cleanup is to develop a relationship with campus organizations that will be able to help with TULIPA’s projects year-round. Volunteer LSU environmental chair and environmental engineering sophomore Duyen Lam agreed and is also eager to unify University students with the rest of the Baton Rouge community.
“I’m always open to new projects,” she said. “This is my first time working with TULIPA … and I hope to build a connection with him every time he needs help. The thing with Volunteer LSU is that we we don’t always know about projects unless someone tells us.”
Lam said although the summer usually means less students are able to help out with volunteer work, students who are still in town are eager to help out.
Around 25-30 people, including approximately 15 students, will be working on the lakes Saturday starting at 8 a.m., but Lam said anyone is welcome to come help out.
“We can never have too much help,” she said. “Anyone and everyone is welcome.”