April 11, 2026 | The Spring Cleanup

This is what showing up for the river looks like

On April 11, 2026, Colorado River Alliance brought together 75 volunteers across seven Eastern Travis County parks for our annual Spring Cleanup even in the rain—removing 471.78 pounds of large and small trash and recycling from our watershed.

Working through wet grass, park paths, and creek edges (and even in the water), volunteers saw firsthand how rain moves trash through our parks, into creeks, and toward the Texas Colorado River.

Events like this are a reminder that protecting the river starts upstream, through community action and strong partnerships.

We’re grateful to Travis County Parks, Travis County Environmental Quality, and our lead sponsor FVF Law for helping make this work possible.

Watch the recap on YouTube to see the impact in action—and the people behind it.

7 locations:

Barkley Meadows Park
Ben Fisher Park
East Metro Park
Northeast Metro Park
Richard Moya Park
Southeast Metro Park
Webberville Park

Photo contest winners

Congratulations to our photo contest winners!

MOST BOTTLE CAPS
369 bottle caps
Eric P.

MOST UNUSUAL OBJECT
Tortoise shell
Ryan P.

DIRTIEST VOLUNTEER
Proving a little dirt won’t hurt!
Yevhenii H.

SURPRISE PRIZES!
One volunteer from each site won their very own Yogi Bin by helping complete a litter audit for Keep Texas Beautiful’s Texas Litter Database.

Photo contest prizes

MOST BOTTLE CAPS
Patagonia Terravia Pack 22L

MOST UNUSUAL OBJECT
Patagonia Terravia Pack 22L

DIRTIEST VOLUNTEER
CRA Swag Bag including CRA t-shirt, Longhorn Dam Vision 2085 poster, River Society hat, and a Patagonia Merganzer hat, all packaged in a CRA tote bag.

SURPRISE PRIZE
Yogi Bin Litter Gitter

Check out the cleanup fun

About The Spring Cleanup

A community event for all ages!

Started in 2021 by Colorado River Alliance and Travis County Parks, The Spring Cleanup brings together local organizations and volunteers to clean up parks and waterways east of downtown Austin.

This community cleanup will take place across beautiful Travis County Parks in East Austin, Pflugerville, Manor, Del Valle, and Webberville. We need people of all ages to help remove trash from downstream parks and creeks—areas that have a significant impact on the Texas Colorado River Basin.