Store's employees to clean up river

Specializing in gear fit for the active outdoorsman, the Timberland Company has through the years made sure its customers have the clothing and equipment necessary to adapt to their environment.

The company's local store will stick with that theme Saturday, but in a way also beneficial to the environment.

Employees will trade their work attire for plastic bags this weekend as the group collects trash and other debris on a portion of Broad River, primarily focusing on two sites close to 99 Islands.

This is the first venture of this type by the store since it moved to its current location at Prime Outlets - Gaffney last year.

The effort is part of a company tradition of making an impact on the environment through planting trees, refurbishing trails, waterways and greenways, and restoring native species on Earth Day. The day is celebrated annually April 22 to promote recycling and the use of alternative sources of energy.

"Our company does a project each year to help our environment on a local basis," said local Timberland store assistant manager Jennifer Coyle. "It is something we look forward to each year and this is no different."

Coyle said the plan to promote a cleanup effort along Broad River came about due to complaints of debris being found along the waterway by store employees and other customers.

"We were hearing these complaints regularly," Coyle said. "So when it was time to find an idea for Earth Day, we felt this was a winner."

Coyle and store manager Jeff Geoghan had to get permission from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to sponsor the effort.

"The person at (DNR) we contacted was very excited about us doing such a cleanup," Geoghan said. "They were happy for one day the job along the river was not theirs."

According to Mary Crockett of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources it is rare for a group to volunteer for this type of job.

"We do not get very many requests of this nature so we are pretty happy when any group comes to us asking to do something helping our environment," Crockett said.

Timberland invites all wanting to help in the effort, which will take place April 19 at 9 a.m. For more information, call the local store at (864) 902-0813.