Winchester youths braved the threat of wet weather Thursday morning as they converged on a creek along Redwing Drive to pick up trash.

The group was organized by Shanda Cecil, a code enforcement officer for the City of Winchester, who said cleanups like these happen two to three times a year in an effort to keep city waterways clean.

The volunteers donned rubber gloves and used grabbers to pull bottles, plastic bags, discarded coffee cups and other litter out of the stream. The group also found several tires and other large items that had been left in the area.

Cecil used the event as an educational opportunity for the young volunteers, most of whom were intermediate or junior high school students. The group discussed how litter collects at waterways and where it is taken if it ends up in the waterstream.