By STU CLAMPITT
The Morse Waterways Association (MWA) is organizing its 18th annual lake cleanup from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, July 16, and this year you can help not only clean up Morse Reservoir, but also help a young man with a passion for sustainability earn his position as an Eagle Scout.
Hudson Holt, 14, is an incoming freshman at Hamilton Heights High School. He is also a magnet fisher.
The Reporter spoke to Hudson and his father, Jim Holt, about what magnet fishing is, how Hudson got involved, and how the community can help Hudson become an Eagle Scout.
“This started with him learning about magnet fishing on YouTube,” Jim Holt told The Reporter. “One of the things that struck me about his project is that is really has been sustainability-focused from the start. At a time when it is everything you can do as a parent of a teenager or a younger kid to get them off of a screen, while this started with a screen, it has led to him spending a lot more time outside doing this and now wanting to share it with other kids.”
After learning about magnet fishing online, Hudson bought a kit and has since invested many hours in what Jim said started as an interest, became a hobby, and has evolved into a passion that he now wants to share with other young people in the community for a good cause.
Hudson already has 10 people scheduled to help with the lake cleanup project, but his goal is to have approximately 50 volunteers.
“Magnet fishing is using utility magnets that lift up to thousands of pounds, using those connected to ropes and throwing them out into the lake and gather metal pollutants that could be in the water,” Hudson told The Reporter. “I have been doing this about two years, primarily at Morse Reservoir, but I have been to White River. I’ve pulled out a grill cover, augers for docks, a washing machine motor and a lot of pipes. I have done this from a boat, but mostly from docks.”
Hudson is planning to reach out to homeowners around Morse Reservoir to ask for permission to have Scouts and other volunteers use their docks to magnet fish metal pollutants from the water.
“If volunteers already have magnets, they can use them with us or donate them,” Hudson said. “I have had a range of magnets. Some could pull up to 200 pounds and some that could pull up over 1,000. I would prefer volunteers bring magnets that are good for less than 1,000 pounds because I want to keep this safe.”
Hudson said the point of the project is sustainability, so he prefers people not go out and purchase new magnets to get involved, but he also noted that this cleanup project is important, and he will not turn anyone away.
If Hudson is successful, he will be a fourth-generation Eagle Scout.
MWA is also looking for volunteers to pull logs out of the lake and use chain saws to cut the logs into manageable pieces to be placed in the dump trucks and hauled away by the Town of Cicero.
To participate in this half-day beautification effort that benefits all who live around the lake, or for more information, contact Art Hall (arthall870@aol.com), Dave Vanette (vanetteda@hotmail.com) or email info@morseh2o.org.