At Olivet Nazarene University, learning about the natural environment and caring for it go hand in hand. For students in the University’s River Keepers volunteer organization, this specifically means caring for the Kankakee River. This past September, 28 student and faculty volunteers of the River Keepers worked alongside locals from across Illinois during the 42nd annual Kankakee & Iroquois River Clean Up, an event organized and hosted by the Northern Illinois Anglers Association. Filling 14 canoes, the University team spent a Saturday morning removing trash from along 4 miles of the Kankakee River. This was the 16th year Olivet has participated in the event to help care for the river that flows past Olivet’s campus.
Dr. Charles Carrigan ’96, professor in the Department of Chemistry and Geosciences and director of the River Keepers, highlighted the importance of this work.
“The cleanup clears large macro-solid trash out of the river, where it interferes with plant and animal life and habitat,” he said. “Removing these pollutants helps restore the river to its natural state. The work also affects the volunteers who do it: They develop a closer connection to the river and the creatures who call it home and a better understanding of themselves as stewards of God’s creation.”
According to Steve Fabbro, the event coordinator, this year’s cleanup involved over 200 volunteers. The cleanup teams covered nearly 60 miles of river and removed almost 3 tons of garbage, including 40 tires. Dr. Carrigan noted that the Olivet team hauled plastic, glass, lawn furniture, a 12-volt battery and even an old road sign from the river.
Ryan Feyen, a senior geology major who has participated in multiple cleanup events on the river, explained the day’s significance.
“The event brings perspective to the issues of trash buildup in river ecosystems, and spending a couple hours removing garbage gives me a sense of making a difference,” he said.
Ryan also emphasized the importance of Olivet students working in the local community.
“Community members seeing Olivet participating shows the importance of the cleanup and hopefully encourages them to support us in the effort,” he said. “The future for this effort will continue to promote a healthy water source for the surrounding communities and continue to keep the Kankakee River the cleanest river in Illinois.” In many ways, Olivet is a river campus. Though the Kankakee River at its closest is a mile from campus, the river forms an essential part of Olivet’s local context. The Kankakee, which is over 130 miles long and flows from northern Indiana into the Illinois River, is often the focus of geology and environmental science courses as well as student research. For example, Dr. Carrigan’s environmental chemistry course measures the river’s water quality at several locations and reports on conditions. The River Keepers organization is also working this year with Illinois River Watch to monitor chloride in Bourbonnais Creek, a small tributary of the Kankakee that drains into the river through Olivet’s campus and the nearby Perry Farm. Upstream from Olivet, the Kankakee also flows along the University’s 100-acre nature preserve. With a total drainage basin of well over 10,000 square miles and which includes most of northern Illinois and all of Kankakee County, the health of the river reflects the health of the surrounding landscape.
From Olivet The Magazine, The God Who Sees Us – Winter 2025. Read the full issue here.
