Keokuk County, IA- This July, hundreds of volunteers will pile into canoes to take on 75 miles of the Skunk River, to scrounge out any trash they can find from the waterway. According to a news release, Iowa Project AWARE (A Watershed Awareness River Expedition), is a canoeing and educational event where participants paddle down a different river in Iowa every summer, removing trash along the way. This year's project is scheduled for July 7th through the 12th on the Skunk River from the Keokuk/Washington County border to just before the Mississippi River in Des Moines County. In the 20 years since this event started, over 6,000 volunteers have removed 489 tons of trash from 1,429 miles of river, with 81% of all trash recycled. To learn more, or to register, visit www.iowaprojectaware.org.