PADRE ISLAND, Texas \u2014 Earlier this month, trash was piled up in the grass and along the shoreline at Packery Channel. On Friday, the people hauling it out weren\u2019t a work crew. They were families.<\/p>\n
They volunteer with Over the Bridge Future Fishers, a Coastal Bend nonprofit that uses fishing to connect island kids with the coast. This summer, the City of Corpus Christi proclaimed June \u201cOver the Bridge Future Fishers Month.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashley Creel has volunteered with the group for just under a year. She first got involved so her kids could learn to fish. Then the family started noticing what was left behind at the spots where they fished.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just, you know, a couple pieces; it\u2019s whole bags of trash people are leaving behind,\u201d Creel said.<\/p>\n
Creel says she\u2019s out cleaning at least once a week, if not more. Her kids, she said, were the first to want to help.<\/p>\n
Co-founder Samantha Lacy says the cleanups took off after the group\u2019s tournament at the end of August. Along with fishing, kids could compete in stewardship categories for trophies.<\/p>\n
\u201cKids picking up trash, you could log your trash just like you log a fish,\u201d Lacy said.<\/p>\n
Photos of full trash bags started coming in from fishing holes all over the island. Soon after, the group organized a large cleanup under the JFK Causeway bridge, and almost 150 people showed up.<\/p>\n
The work isn\u2019t just picking up trash. Lacy says volunteers hand out bags and talk with the people fishing in these areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, you didn\u2019t catch any fish? Well, I know what you can catch. You can catch a bag of trash, right?\u201d Lacy said.<\/p>\n
Keeping these spots clean isn\u2019t simple. The stretch along Highway 361 near Packery Channel includes both public and private land, and Lacy says figuring out who\u2019s responsible for what has been a challenge. For Friday\u2019s cleanup, the group finally connected with a private landowner.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s the one that\u2019s bringing in the dumpsters,\u201d Lacy said.<\/p>\n
That dumpster was only there for the day. Lacy says there are no permanent trash receptacles in these areas, so the families plan to keep coming back. They\u2019re also working with the people responsible for the land to find a long-term solution.<\/p>\n
For Lacy, the bigger goal is the kids.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re gonna see them transform. How they feel about the area, they\u2019re gonna build pride, and they\u2019re gonna take care of it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
To volunteer, learn more, or report a trashed fishing spot, visit Over the Bridge Future Fishers at overthebridgefuturefishers.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.<\/p>\n For the latest local news updates, click here<\/a>, or download the KRIS 6 News App.<\/a><\/p>\n