It's time for spring cleaning along the Trinity River.

From 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, volunteers will pick up trash on the banks of the river in Dallas.

Organizers of Operation A.C.T ("A Clean Trinity") don't know what sort of garbage they'll find – it could be anything from engine blocks to cinder blocks – but they know they'll find a lot of it.

"We get tons of tires. We get roof shingles, construction materials, plastic bags, glass bottles. There's a lot of illegal dumping," said Casie Pierce, founder of Groundwork Dallas, the neighborhood environmentalist group that is organizing the cleanup.

Ms. Pierce said she hoped all the attention that the Trinity River project has gotten in the last year has made more people aware of what an asset the river could be.

The city hopes to transform the river where it flows through downtown Dallas into a stellar attraction with lakes, hiking trails, promenades and green belts. The Trinity was much in the news last year, when a referendum was launched to kill the high-speed toll road that is part of the project. The referendum, opposed by Mayor Tom Leppert and most other elected officials, failed.

"The Trinity project is a big deal, and it should be," Ms. Pierce said. "But even now, not many people really know about the river. When they get down there, I hear them say, 'Wow. I've lived here all my life, and I never knew this was here.' "

Volunteers will gather Saturday morning at three locations near the river: Rochester Park, Moore Park and Trammell Crow Lake Park. There's no need to register in advance. "Just pick a park and show up," Ms. Pierce said.

Participants should bring work gloves. Solid boots and an effective bug spray also are recommended. Lunch will be served at Crow Lake Park after the cleanup ends at noon.

The Trinity cleanups have been an (almost) annual affair since 1999, when the first was organized by Betty Svoboda, a longtime member of the Dallas Plan Commission and the Park and Recreation Board. She died in 2001 at age 70. After that, the cleanup effort lost some of its steam. Ms. Pierce's group, Groundwork Dallas, took over organization of the event in 2005.

Volunteers will gather at three parks near the Trinity River for Saturday's cleanup:

•Rochester Park, 3000 Rochester St., near Lamar Street and C.F. Hawn Freeway in South Dallas

•Moore Park, just south of where the downtown levees end, near the Corinth Street Viaduct

•Trammell Crow Lake Park, where Sylvan Avenue crosses the river north of downtown

Trash bags and drinking water will be provided. Bring gloves. Wear boots. Insect repellent is a good idea, too.

The cleanup will be from 9 a.m. to noon. Lunch will be served afterward at Crow Lake Park.

For more information, call 214-269-5692, or send an e-mail to groundworkdallas @yahoo.com.

SOURCE: Groundwork Dallas