HAMMOND — Volunteers at Southeastern Louisiana University took part in a cleanup effort Friday morning along Ponchatoula Creek.

The litter removal project is part of the "Love Our Waterways" and Keep Louisiana Beautiful campaigns. Volunteers brought their own buckets, boots and litter pickers to collect and bag trash in and around the water.

"I hope we've made our little corner of southeastern and Hammonds a little bit better for our ecosystem and we hope we've raised enough awareness and got enough interest that we can keep growing from here until we can see some pristine waters here at home," Theresa Harriford, instructor of sociology, said.

The Love Our Waterways campaign is running the entire month of September. More than 300 cleanups have been scheduled around the state.