Grass grows through a discarded tire at Porter's Cove canoe launch in the Harmony Junction area. The Allegheny Aquatic Alliance is seeking volunteers for two cleanups, Aug. 29 and Sept. 12, of the Connoquenessing Creek.

Anyone age 13 or older is invited to volunteer at one or both of this year's Connoquenessing Creek Cleanup events.

The first Saturday cleanup event will be Aug. 29 followed by another Sept. 12.

The stretch of creek to be cleaned up during this, the Allegheny Aquatic Alliance's ninth year, is from the Major Washington canoe and kayak launch on Ash Stop Road in Forward Township to the Allegheny Aquatic Alliance launch in Ellwood City, Lawrence County.

The group has removed about 6,000 tires and 550,000 pounds of trash from the creek so far, said Mike Handley, president of the alliance.

Volunteers will meet at Living Faith Baptist Church, 1718 Route 588, Fombell, which is just outside Zelienople.

Breakfast provided by the church will be available to volunteers, and gloves, shovels, water and sports drinks, snacks, and other cleanup necessities will be handed out after teams are selected by Handley.

Teams will enter the creek with canoes and on boats at their designated access points to walk their section of the waterway and load tires, garbage and debris into the boats.

Those who do not wish to get in the creek will be sent to various access points to help teams unload debris from the boats and load it into trailers.

Still others will serve as drivers, transporting the refuse to a designated dump site. Workers at one of the two dump sites will help dispose of the debris by laying tires out in long rows, depositing metal into a recycling receptacle and trash into a Dumpster.