A New Jersey angler has been using cleanup videos to turn ordinary time on the water into a community-minded project.
After pulling a tire from a creek, John Casalnova expanded that effort into a social media-documented push to restore four Camden County waterways, reported The Retrospect.
What happened?
On TikTok and YouTube, where he posts as CleanJerseyWaterways (@CleanJerseyWaterways), Casalnova documents trips spent hauling trash out of nearby lakes and streams.
The Oaklyn native, now living in Haddon Township, got started after a fishing day at Peter's Creek shifted into something else.
Instead of just catching fish, he ended up removing a tire and a section of orange plastic construction fencing lodged in the mud.
"That was a cleanup that really sparked everything," Casalnova said, per The Retrospect. "I realized pretty early on that it wasn't the fishing that I was enjoying, it was the instant gratification of seeing the difference you're making."
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He has since featured cleanup work at Peter's Creek, Audubon Lake, Cooper River, and Newton Lake.
So far, his total includes 25 tires, 125 bags of trash, and seven shopping carts, including one from Bradlees, a chain that closed more than 20 years ago.
A day at Cooper River remains one of his standout cleanups: battling windy conditions, he gathered hundreds of golf balls that were floating in the water.
Why does it matter?
Casalnova's cleanup videos show how much hidden trash can pile up in waterways that people fish in, kayak on, and walk beside every day.
Tires, plastic fencing, shopping carts, and golf balls do more than create an eyesore. Over time, they can break down, pollute the water, and threaten wildlife.
The effort has also begun to pull in others from the area. Casalnova has said that residents have reached out to join cleanups, bring their children, and invite him to speak with Scouts.
What are people saying?
From the response he has received, Casalnova said he sees clear interest in this kind of work.
"The community is great," he said. "There's a huge need for it, and I see a direction that cleaning and environmental work can go as far as younger people and the community having more engagement."
In his view, helping out can begin with small everyday habits rather than a large-scale cleanup.
"Teaching your kids to pick something up or not throw something down," he said. "That's what everyday people can just do to make sure there is less of it."
Looking back on that windy Cooper River cleanup, he said, "It was the large haul, the wind, and the conditions that made it something I'll remember."
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