Irving Elementary School kindergarten teacher Diane Livermore said she was encouraged by the positive effort kids made during cleanup attempts along the banks of Amazon channel.

For Livermore, the yearly cleanup effort plants a learning seed that could turn into a long-term environmental ethic for Bethel School District children - while giving teachers a chance to practice what they preach.

"One thing a cleanup does is show children that teachers out there are willing to do something about these problems," she said.

Livermore was among about 125 Eugene area residents who spent Saturday picking up garbage that had been tossed in and around the banks of the urban waterway as part of the third annual Amazon Appreciation Day.

They found bicycle frames, Styrofoam, tires and even a padded easy chair. They also found clothing and Iots of discarded signs and other trash.

Al Peterson, a KEZI television reporter who helped organize the event, said one discovery in the creek outdid all others for sheer weirdness.

While wading In the channel for debris, someone picked up a small, soggy notebook. It turned out to be one unidentified man's gambling records.

"We got a diary of a guy who lost all his money in LasVegas," Peterson said.

Despite a drizzling rain, volunteers also canvassed neighborhoods nearby the creek and distributed information leaflets. They also refurbished the Camas Trail at Amazon Park and took part in a bird watching tour, and nature walks.

Most of the cleanup effort was on the portion of the channel in west Eugene. The channel starts near Spencer Butte and runs through Amazon Park and west Eugene before emptying into Fern Ridge Reservoir.

The event was sponsored by KZEL, KEZI, Bethel School District and the city of Eugene.

Rick Cavagnaro, a KZEL radio promotions director, said that while rain kept volunteers from stenciling Storm drains and painting a bridge near appreciation day headquarters at Patterson Elementary School, the event was a success.

Eugene Public Works employee Dal Ollek agreed. "I think the appreciation day gets people to think of Amazon as a creek, a natural waterway," he said. "Now they'll think twice before throwing something in it."