Ten American Environmental Volunteers You Should Know About
You’ve probably heard of famous environmentalists around the world, like Greta Thunberg.
But what about environmental volunteers and activists right here in the United States? The ones who could be your coworker, your child’s teacher, the barista at your favorite coffee shop, or even your neighbor. People who sometimes work quietly behind the scenes and other times draw more attention to their efforts. Yet, they all have one thing in common: relentless hard work that creates real change in their communities.
We are often used to hearing the bad news—stories of pollution, environmental damage, and everything that’s going wrong. But these local environmental volunteers are helping shift the narrative, showing what’s possible when you do things differently. Read on and get ready to be inspired!
Chad Pregacke - East Moline, Illinois
Chad Pregracke
Let's start with one of the most humble and all-time favorite, Chad Pregracke, sometimes called “The Rivers’ Garbageman.” With almost three decades of environmental action, Chad Pregracke has become one of the most inspiring volunteers in the U.S. And it all started close to his home, along the Mississippi River, where Chad spent much of his childhood.
While working as a commercial shell diver as a teenager, Chad began to notice just how much debris was piling up in and along the river. Hoping to change this, he reported the issue to government agencies many times, assuming they would take care of the problem. But after years of waiting for their action—and watching the river fill with more waste—he realized that no one was coming to restore this ecosystem.
So, he decided to take matters into his own hands.
In the summer of 1997, Chad embarked on a solo effort to clean up the river and his first year managed to remove an impressive 45,000 pounds of trash!
But he didn’t stop there. In 1998, Chad founded Living Lands & Waters, a river cleanup organization dedicated to protecting and restoring America’s waterways. To date, Living Lands & Waters continues to make an impact, with key accomplishments such as:
+14 million pounds of trash removed from U.S. rivers
+137,000 volunteers across the country
+30,000 students educated
+2.3 million trees planted
Chad (bottom center, with sunglasses) and his group following a Living Lands & Waters clean up events
Today, Living Lands & Waters is equipped with four barges, two towboats, five workboats, two skid steers, an excavator, six work trucks, and a crane. Chad and his team travel the nation’s waterways on a fleet of barges, clearing tons of debris that litter the riverbanks.
2. Jill Mather - Los Angeles, California
Now, let’s head west to California, where Jill Mather’s inspiring story is impossible to ignore.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jill started going on long walks through her neighborhood to stay active and find a sense of calm. But as she spent more time walking, she couldn’t help but notice that the streets were filled with litter. And that’s when she decided to bring a bag along and start picking up litter during her walks.
After a few days of wondering if others might want to join, she posted on the Nextdoor app, inviting anyone interested to get involved. To her surprise, a dozen people showed up!
As more people joined these daily cleanups, Jill decided to create the nonprofit organization “Volunteers Cleaning Communities (VCC)”. The volunteer group—largely made up of retirees in their 60s and 70s—recycled what they collected to pay for bright yellow vests, gloves, bags, litter grabbers, and other supplies.
Volunteers Cleaning Communities (VCC) is now one of the largest cleanup groups in Los Angeles. The organization brings together hundreds of people each week to keep Los Angeles’ streets clean. While the cleanup has given many members a sense of purpose, it has also become a place where people form genuine, lasting friendships.
3. Edgar McGreggor - Los Angeles, California
Edgar McGregor is another environmental volunteer making an impact in California, particularly the beautiful trails of Eaton Canyon, a 190-acre zoological, botanical, and geological nature preserve in Pasadena, CA, featuring popular hiking trails, a 40-foot waterfall, and a nature center.
During his walks through the area in 2019, the constant presence of trash made it clear to him that no one was taking care of it.
And so, Edgar made it his mission to clean up Eaton Canyon himself. Although he had expected to complete this goal in 20 days, the cleanup ended up taking over 500 days.
Equipped with two buckets and a pair of gloves, Edgar made daily trips to the park. Not even heat waves, rain, or snowstorms stopped him from cleaning up Eaton Canyon every day.
Edgar McGregor on of his cleanup walks through Eaton Canyon
At the same time, Edgar documented his journey on Twitter. He posted daily updates on how much trash he collected, the hours he put in, the areas he cleaned, and even the weather he pushed through. His consistency and dedication earned him thousands of followers on social media, where he encouraged others to take similar action in their own communities.
Along the way, Edgar made sure all recyclables were properly recycled, using the proceeds to support charities and fund native tree planting efforts in the park.
After ensuring Eaton Canyon was completely waste-free, Edgar continued visiting the park and other locations to keep the waste at bay. He’s now spent over 2,000 days keeping public spaces clean!
4. Glenn Morris - Memphis, Tenneseee
Glenn Morris, a If you enjoy clever, DIY-style solutions, you’ll love Glenn Morris’ invention.
Glenn Morris on a beach cleanup - as seen from the Litterbuggie
Glenn Morris is a mechanical designer using his skills to make picking up litter not just easier and more efficient, but way cooler! Instead of carrying bags around, Glenn brings a convenient remote-controlled trash can he built. He even named it “Litterbuggie.”
Made from an RC car base, a plastic bin, and a trash bag rig, the litterbuggie helps him collect countless bags of litter every year. For Glenn, walking there to four miles while collecting litter makes for a great workout and a productive use of his free time.
What he didn’t expect, though, was how much attention his actions would attract. As he expressed in a 2021 interview, “I'm just a guy walking around and picking up trash.”
On the streets, he has seen people start picking up their litter after seeing what he’s doing. On social media, Glenn has grown a large community where thousands of people follow his cleanup efforts and litterbuggies.
5. Benny Braden - Harriman, Tennessee
Tennessee is also home to Benny Braden, another individual dedicated to environmental restoration. After more than 13 years as a first responder, the weight of everything Benny had seen began to take a toll, and he started struggling with PTS (Post Traumatic Stress).
As Benny dealt with these symptoms, the outdoors became a place where he could find relief. But sadly, many of these spaces had been vandalized. Knowing how much these spaces had helped him, he wanted them to offer the same relief to others.
In August 2022, Benny founded Responsible Stewardship, a fully volunteer-operated nonprofit organization. Responsible Stewardship restores vandalized public lands and makes outdoor spaces more enjoyable for everyone. With the help of its volunteers, the organization has removed more than 375,000 lbs. of litter and trash!
Responsible Stewardship also embraces what they call “Education Through Action.” With its Responsible Stewardship Ethics, the organization helps outdoor enthusiasts understand their environmental impact and how to better protect these spaces.
6. Kathy Frederick - Allentown, Pennsylvania
Kathleen Frederick
Kathy Frederick is one of many volunteers who began their environmental journeys during the COVID-19 pandemic. As she took walks during her lunch breaks, Kathy was shocked by the amount of trash she saw in the Lehigh Valley. That’s when she began bringing a plastic bag with her to show others how beautiful this area could look without litter.
Kathleen Frederick and Allentown Mayor Matthew Turk, in 2024
In 2021, Kathy founded the Lehigh Valley CleanUp, a community initiative that brings people together to clean up streets and roadsides. To make this possible, she tapped into social media and handed out business cards to encourage others to join her.
The result? The initiative has mobilized around 100 volunteers and cleared thousands of bags of trash. At these cleanup events, volunteers receive bags, gloves, safety vests, traffic cones, and grabbers from donors and municipalities.
In 2023, Kathy was even recognized as “Volunteer of the Year” by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, a statewide nonprofit empowering Pennsylvanians to keep communities clean.
Kathy frequently posts before-and-after shots of her cleanups on LVCleanUp’s Instagram and Facebook pages. And the results are incredibly inspiring and satisfying to see!
7. Rich Guffanti - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Rich Guffanti has been a dedicated volunteer in West Philadelphia for more than a decade. After retiring in 2011 from a 24-year career as a high school teacher, Rich began volunteering at a bird sanctuary. Later, when he volunteered at a local library, he met his neighbor Andrew Wheeler. They quickly bonded over their shared affinity for volunteering and the outdoors.
In 2017, they joined forces to pick up leaves and trash around the nearby Cobbs Creek Parkway in West Philadelphia.
Rich Guffanti (in background with red hat) + several Cobb Creek Park cleanup volunteers
By 2018, the pair organized weekly cleanups in the area. But given its 850+ acres, they realized Cobbs Creek was too big to take on by themselves, so they founded Cobbs Creek Ambassadors. Through the initiative, they aimed to engage “ambassadors” who would adopt and care for different sections of the park.
Today, the program has grown to include eight ambassadors, each hosting monthly cleanups in their respective zones. Over the past four years, the Cobbs Creek Park Ambassadors have brought together over 250 volunteers each year, hosted around 100 cleanup events, and removed roughly 9.5 tons of trash per year.
Cobb Creek Parkway Volunteers November 2023
8. Susan Baur - Falmouth, Massachussets
With nothing but turtles keeping her company, Susan Baur swam in Cape Cod ponds for eighteen years. Over time, she noticed how these graceful creatures were losing their homes, as more people and the trash they left behind began to take over the ponds.
Driven by her affection for these turtles, Susan founded Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage (OLAUG) in 2017—bringing together a small group of women to help clean Cape Cod ponds. The only requirements? Volunteers must be women, 65 or older, and excellent swimmers.
Susan Baur and her group of old ladies
These inspiring old ladies dive down to collect trash from the shallows to depths of up to 12 feet, retrieving debris hidden underwater. One thing that sets OLAUG members apart is the joy they bring to every cleanup. And more importantly, they show how environmental action can also promote healthy aging.
So far, the group has removed over 6,000 pounds of trash from Cape Cod ponds. On some cleanups, they’ve even hauled out heavy items like tires, a toilet, and the whole back end of a Corvette!
9. Preston Ross III - Raleigh, North Carolina
Preston Ross III with his Raleigh volunteers
Originally from Chicago, Preston has called Raleigh home for more than 20 years.
As the city grew, he began noticing more and more trash in his neighborhood. With the belief that everyone has a role to play, he decided to pick up litter during walks with his dog.
After realizing he couldn’t tackle the problem alone, he turned to Meetup, social media, and word of mouth to bring others on board. Within just a few events, dozens of people were showing up. That’s when Preston officially founded The Great Raleigh Cleanup in 2020.
Since its founding, the nonprofit has brought together over 2,700 volunteers and removed more than 400,000 pounds of litter from Raleigh. The Great Raleigh Cleanup opens the door for everyone to take part. From kid-friendly cleanups and corporate volunteer events to Adopt-the-Block programs that empower residents to care for their own streets.
One of their most meaningful initiatives is the Workforce Program, where the organization provides paid opportunities for residents experiencing homelessness. Participants receive a living wage for weekly four-hour shifts spent clearing litter from roadsides, greenways, and waterways. So far, the program has employed over 90 community members!
10. Dan Taylor - Baltimore, Maryland
Last but not least, let’s talk about Dan Taylor, Baltimore-area man who is quietly changing the game as a volunteer. His efforts could inspire any volunteer to dream of having their own traffic cones and perhaps even a pickup truck!
Dan has dedicated more than 20 years to cleanup efforts, but began documenting and sharing them about eight years ago. After getting tired of seeing lots of trash wherever he went, Dan decided to clean up these spaces whenever he could.
As long as it’s safe to pull over, he’ll head out to pick up trash, filling his truck bed until it’s full. To date, he has removed more than a thousand tires!
Even though Dan joins community cleanups from time to time, he typically picks up trash on his own. He often does this during his lunch breaks, on weekends, and even on big holidays like Christmas and New Year’s Eve. While he mostly focuses on roadside cleanups, he sometimes turns his attention to nearby beaches and parks as well.
Dan has also created a GoFundMe page to support his cleanups, using the funds to buy trash bags, grabbers, gloves, and gear. You can also catch Dan’s cleanup work on his YouTube channel, where over 800 subscribers follow his efforts.
Queit Environmental Action Never Stops
Change doesn’t always start big. More often, it begins with small, consistent actions.
These environmental volunteers remind us that one person’s determination can spark a ripple effect, transforming communities and even inspiring others to take action. These stories show that no matter your age, gender, background, or location, you can help create the change you want to see.
And while this list is far from complete, it’s a reminder that countless individuals are making a difference every day. So, if you see them in action, take a moment to thank them!
