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The annual Strodes Creek Clean-up organized by the city of Winchester’s Stormwater Program is scheduled for Thursday.

The clean-up begins promptly at 9:30 a.m. and will cover the area where Town Branch empties into Strodes Creek along Barnes Drive.

According to Winchester Stormwater Coordinator Shanda Cecil, the annual clean-up is sorely needed.

“It is amazing every year. You think that doing it annually that you would not get bags and bags of trash, but there always seems to be quite a bit of trash in that stream,” said Cecil.

The litter is always the same too. In addition to auto parts, Cecil said that the clean-up yields a lot of aluminum cans.

Of course, litter is not just an issue near the stream; it is everywhere in Clark County. One of the primary sources of litter is debris that flies out of the open beds of pickup trucks.

“A lot of litter flows out of the backs of trucks,” Cecil said, adding that many people do not give a second thought to throwing a stray piece of trash in an open-air area like the bed of a truck. “I don’t think that people litter deliberately, but it might as well be.”

Despite the recurring litter issues, area residents are invited to spend an hour and a half cleaning up the area. Bags and gloves will be provided, and participants will receive a free t-shirt.

Cecil said the clean-up will be an excellent experience for the younger generations.

“It is a great way to get your kids involved in environmental work, and it is a great way for them to see where litter goes,” Cecil said.

And a helpful exercise for kids and adults to cut down on their littering is to imagine where it might go once it is improperly disposed of.

“Our litter can actually end up in the Gulf of Mexico through the various watersheds,” Cecil said.