Mack’s bayou cleanup effort

  • Published
  • By Kate Hasapes
  • 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron
Barksdale has a problem with trashy bayous.  Main base is surrounded by two waterways:  Mack’s Bayou and Cooper’s Bayou. Not only does trash and debris accrue from littering on base, but trash filled water enters Barksdale from a drainage basin that originates in the surrounding Bossier City neighborhoods and commercial areas. Cleanup efforts help to reduce trash accumulation, but it is a continuous problem.

Ms. Kayden Brooks, a freshman at Benton High School, was tasked with a project to clean up a body of water through her Advanced Placement Biology class. Brooks contacted David Beaty, 2nd Bomb Wing Bird, wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard wildlife biologist, Neal Traweek, 2nd Civil Engineer Squadron environmental management supervisor, and Stephanie Hasapes, 2nd CES environmental program manager, for assistance with this project. It was determined that the weir toward the bottom of Mack’s Bayou was a perfect spot for her to complete her assignment as that is a known area where litter collects after washing down the bayou.

With a cleanup team including her father, Tech. Sgt. Floyd Brooks, 96th Aircraft Maintenance Unit weapons expediter, her siblings and the Beaty family, they successfully removed 99 plastic bottles, seven toy balls, two glass bottles, piles of styrofoam cups and containers, random plastic bits and pieces, scrap wood and construction debris.  All recyclable items were taken to Barksdale’s recycling center and kept out of the landfills. Brooks, her family, and the Beaty family were thanked with certificates of appreciation and storm water medallions from Barksdale’s Environmental Element. 

If individuals or groups are interested in future waterway cleanup events, contact Neal Traweek at 318-456-3498, Kate Hasapes at 318-456-2770 or Alfredo Garza, Barksdale’s Recycling Manager, at 318-456-5293.  It takes the whole team to keep Barksdale clean!