Mississippi Power celebrates Earth Day with Renew Our Rivers Deer Island cleanup
HARRISON COUNTY, MISS. (WXXV)- Mississippi Power celebrated Earth Day by kicking off its 20th year of Renew Our Rivers at Deer Island in Biloxi.
Nearly 200 volunteers from the Beau Rivage, the City of Biloxi, Department of Marine Resources, Golden Nugget, Hard Rock, Harrah’s and the Harrison County Beautification Commission and Mississippi Power were removing trash and debris from the island.
Michael Harvey, the Director of Environmental Affairs for Mississippi Power, says, “We’re excited because we are actually kicking off our 20th year for Renew our Rivers, and in those 20 years we’ve collected over 420 tons of trash and debris. Today the Deer Island cleanup, this is our 14th year. And we’ve been able to remove over 24 tons just for this event. ”
One Beau Rivage volunteer says this event is a great way to give back. Aris Taconi, Senior Hotel Operations Manager at Beau Rivage, says, “This is the fourth year I’ve come out with the Beau for this event and it’s really great. Sustainability is one of our core pillars and so find to opportunities to get out and help clean up our earth, especially on Earth Day with our team. We’ve got over 50 volunteers; it’s a great way for us to make an impact on the coast.”
Taconi also says a clean view of Deer Island adds to the charm of the Beau Rivage. “We love being out here as well. It’s one of the things that we get to look out over from the Beau. Our guests love looking out of their hotel rooms to see the Mississippi Sound and Deer Island, so it’s just another way to keep our Coast beautiful.”
Volunteers play a crucial role in making these cleanups successful year after year. Harvey says, “We’re excited about the community partners, the collaboration. This is an opportunity to demonstrate environmental stewardship and conservation and so this is just a great way to celebrate Earth Day.”
With the 14th clean-up of Deer Island now in the books, more than 2,000 pounds of trash and other large debris was removed from the island today ahead of the summer season.
