For Elizabeth Nagel, giving back to the community that’s given her so much is important.

Nagel, a sophomore business marketing major spent her Saturday with 33 other volunteers from the university paddling a five mile stretch of the Trinity River to help clean it up.

“The community has given us so much allowing TCU to be in Fort Worth, so I think it’s nice when students are able to give back,” Nagel said.

The event was the first ever Trinity River Cleanup, put on by the rec center’s Outdoor Programs.

Steve Campbell, assistant director of campus recreation and outdoor programs, said he got the idea for the river cleanup last summer when he went on a kayaking trip on the Trinity.

When Campbell saw the amount of trash in the river, he said he thought it would be a great opportunity for TCU to come and help out.

Richard Fleischer, a senior biology major, said he also saw the amount of trash in the Trinity and wanted to help clean it up.

“I like running on the trails sometimes and I noticed there was a lot of trash, so I want to clean it up and keep the river looking good,” Fleischer said.

Campbell said the number of students that were interested in the river cleanup was higher than he expected. By the time the student volunteers had reached their destination, they had collected more than 15 bags of trash, along with other unexpected items like a children’s toy red wagon.

Campbell said he hoped the students involved in the cleanup would leave with a sense of environmental stewardship.