Reading’s RIVERZILLA Community Day forms human, nature connections

Redding residents will visit the Schuylkill River on Saturday to clean and enjoy the outdoors. The River Zilla event connects people with the waterway. The day will start with volunteers picking up trash along the river's shoreline. Organizer Bethany Ayers Fisher says decades ago the river was too polluted for recreation. She says River Zilla is helping reintroduce residents to fund nature activities with kayaking demonstrations and bike loans. We want people to have a relationship with the river and make those memories. It's a great space for just hanging out with your friends and your family. But we just wanted to make sure that people are stewarding the spacewell. So everybody can enjoy it. Ayers Fisher says the riverfront has become cleaner since they started the event. The main trash they pick up is glass bottles and metal bottle caps, which are banned at the park. People coming to clean up trash should wear sturdy shoes they're okay with getting muddy. In Harrisburg, I'm Katie Knoll. WITF News.