About 150 volunteers got a head-start on Earth Day festivities Saturday, pitching in to help clean up the area around Carter Lake.

"We love this lake, we know how important the lake is to this community.”

"I'm amazed, I'm amazed, I just didn't have any expectations that there'd be this many people out here today and it's really gratifying to see there are that many people who care about the lake and want to help,” said Mark Eibes.

Katherine Cameron and her teammates on the Creighton rowing team were among the volunteers. "We come out and do it every year and it just builds up, it's kind of sad that people don't seem to really respect it and take care of it as much as I would like to see.”

There was no telling what one would find walking along the waterfront. "We find everything, we find furniture, we find all sort of fishing gear that are not picked up when fishermen leave, we find bottles, lots of glass, lots of cans.”

A little bit picked up here and there with each person doing a small part, the result was a cleaner place for everyone. "It's good to give back to the community, keep the lake nice because it reflects on the whole community."

While the cleanup was an Earth Day celebration event, Earth Day is officially this Wednesday, April 22nd.