Local Organization Pushes Forward With Ambitious Plans to Clean Michigan Waterways
Equipped with blue latex gloves, 30-gallon trash bags and grabber tools, dozens of volunteers spent Sunday afternoon canvassing rivers in Michigan’s capital region.
The large cleanup event was the latest by Michigan Waterways Stewards, a conservation group that has become a force for removing litter from rivers locally and around the state over the last few years. Since November 2022, the group has organized over 270 stewardship projects, clearing more than 200,000 pounds of litter.
The Waterways Stewards host events by partnering with groups, often student organizations, to pull trash and debris from in and around rivers. Sunday’s event was in partnership with Michigan State University’s Sigma Kappa sorority and Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. Volunteers concentrated their efforts along the Grand River, riverside parks and the Lansing River Trail.
“We care about the earth and our impact on the environment around us,” said Maddie Elkow, a Sigma Kappa member who helped coordinate the partnership. “I think it’s really sad to see garbage everywhere and people not caring.”
The event began at the Sigma Kappa sorority house, where Stout expressed his gratitude to volunteers, before dividing them into groups of five and designating areas to clean up.
Throughout the rest of the afternoon, Stout and Sadie, his Shetland Sheepdog sidekick, drove a Bobcat utility vehicle from site to site, collecting trash bags the volunteers had filled.
Stout shared that 15 years ago, he vowed he was done with dating and picked up kayaking to help rediscover himself. Taken by the sport, he began paddling daily, and even managed a solo trip across Lake Superior and to paddle across Lake Michigan three times in a 33-day period.
“The first time you’re unsure, and it’s nerve-racking, lots of emotions,” he said. “By the third time you know what to expect…It’s really surreal, and if you’re a believer, you get really close to God, it’s just amazing…It was the feeling of being close to friends and family who passed before me and the thrill of the adventure.”
After moving to Lansing three years ago, Stout’s new training grounds became the Grand River and Red Cedar River. The terrible conditions of the water horrified him so much that he almost quit the sport.
However, with a background in Fortune 100 marketing and his passion for the environment, Stout realized he had all the skills needed to create a clean water coalition. Over the last three years, Stout’s group has mobilized over 3,500 volunteers to help 17 communities.
“We’re really tapping into people who have a real passion and live their mission,” Stout said.
One of the groups Michigan Waterways Stewards partners with is Punks With Lunch Lansing, a nonprofit organization that assists unhoused people. Throughout Sunday’s event, Punks with Lunch volunteer Mike Gorishek asks unhoused people in cleanup areas if they need help, and ensures Waterways Stewards volunteers don’t mistakenly throw out anyone’s belongings.
“[Unhoused people] tend to be very cooperative and definitely understanding,” Stout said. “In a lot of cases, they’ll offer a hand and pick up litter and help with some bulky material.”
By the end of the three hour event, the volunteers covered 2.25 miles and collected around 3,750 pounds of trash.
Stout dreams big when it comes to Michigan Waterways Stewards because he’s found his organization’s model to be incredibly impactful, repeatable and scalable. He plans for the group to go statewide in 2026 and then region-wide in 2027, expanding into the northern part of Indiana, Ohio and potentially Illinois.
“I’m so proud of the MSU students…they really inspire me and that’s the reason I’m so confident that this thing is scalable to other markets and geographies,” Stout said.