The Ripple Effect: How Jeremy Koons is cleaning up the White River through Muncie
By Nick Werner
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For years, the White River has been one of Muncie’s most underappreciated assets—winding gracefully through the heart of the city, lined by a scenic trail, and offering opportunities for recreation, reflection, and community.
But in recent years, parts of its shoreline began to decline. Trash accumulated along wooded banks. At least one homeless encampment lingered for months, abandoned. Graffiti marred the bridge underpasses.
And while many people saw the decay and turned away, Jeremy Koons decided to do something about it. Koons is owner of Koons Lawn & Landscape and a lifelong resident of Muncie.
“I drive that route every day,” Jeremy said. “And every time I passed by, it just made me sick to see how it had gone downhill. Eventually, I just said to myself, ‘You know what? I’m going to clean it up.’”
Driven to action
Jeremy’s journey began this winter, when a homeless encampment near the Jackson Street Bridge was abandoned and left behind a staggering amount of debris.
“There was one area where you could barely see the ground because it was covered in trash,” Jeremy said. “There were tents, clothes, liquor bottles, used needles, even buckets of human feces. And all of it was sitting just a few feet from the river.”
So Jeremy went into action..
One morning, he threw on some work clothes, made a Facebook post letting people know he’d be cleaning up the riverbank, and went to work.
“A few people came down to help, and we got it cleaned up. And the support from the community—it was overwhelming,” he said.
Adopting the river
The success of that cleanup inspired Jeremy to do more.
He reached out to the mayor’s office and asked for permission to adopt a section of the river—just like a group might adopt a stretch of highway. He proposed taking responsibility for the stretch from High Street west to the water treatment plant, a section he knows well.
“That’s one of the prettiest parts of the river,” he said. “I could keep eyes on it and stay on top of the trash and graffiti.”
The mayor’s office agreed. Since then, Jeremy has been down on the trail nearly every evening—picking up litter, cleaning sidewalks and rest areas, and painting over offensive graffiti.
A little work, big impact
With just about 20 hours of work spread across a few weeks, Jeremy has transformed the look and feel of a heavily trafficked public space.
“People think I’ve put in months of work, but really, it’s been an hour here, two hours there,” he said. “A little bit of effort goes a long way.”
To support his efforts, the Muncie Sanitary District has donated supplies, including about 10 gallons of paint for covering graffiti. Advanced Signs donated labor to help Jeremy create signs that read: “This area has been cleaned by volunteers. Please help keep the community clean. Do not litter.” Jeremy paid for the materials himself.
He also worked with the Sanitary District to place four large trash totes along the trail—one under each bridge.
“There used to be no trash cans on that stretch,” he said. “Within three days of putting the totes out, every single one of them had trash in it. People were using them.”
When the river flooded and the totes had to be moved, Jeremy planned to haul them back into place. But someone beat him to it—evidence that the movement to clean the river is spreading beyond Jeremy and his circle of friends.
“Somebody had already dragged them back down for me—and even found my sign and put it back in the ground. That was cool to see.”
More than just clean-up
Jeremy’s work is about more than trash removal and graffiti cover-ups. It’s about restoring a sense of pride in a shared space—and protecting the health of a vital waterway.
“There’s no excuse for some of what we found down there,” he said. “That stuff would have ended up in the river. We’re talking about human waste, drug paraphernalia—if the river levels had come up even a little more during this spring’s flooding, all of that would have washed downstream.”
He’s also thinking about the message this environment sends to the community.
“If kids go down there and see graffiti all over the bridges, it gives them ideas,” Jeremy said. “But if they don’t see it—or if they see it’s been painted over by the next day—they’re going to think twice before they do anything.”
Jeremy added that most of the bridges he has painted and the areas he has cleaned have remained in good condition.
He hopes that by keeping the area beautiful and safe, more people will come to enjoy the river—whether for fishing, kayaking, or just spending time outdoors with their families.
Stewardship starts with all of us
Jeremy sees the White River as something that belongs to all of us. It’s a public resource that should be protected, maintained, and celebrated. And he’s quick to emphasize that anyone can help.
“I think people are just used to looking at it and ignoring it,” he said. “But if you show them that a little effort can make a big difference, it lights a spark.”
He’s already seen that spark catch. People have offered to help with larger cleanup days. And thanks to support from the community and groups like the Muncie Sanitary District, he’s hopeful that momentum will continue to grow.
For Jeremy, that means staying the course—checking the trail every day, painting over new graffiti, and picking up trash before it becomes a problem.
“We’ve got this amazing river running through the middle of our city,” Jeremy said. “Most places don’t have something like that. We should be doing everything we can to protect it. And if my small part can inspire someone else to clean up a park or a trail near their home, then it’s all worth it.”
Inspired by Jeremy’s story? Grab a trash bag. Invite a neighbor. Pick a spot. Whether it’s a block, a trail, or a riverbank, we all have a role to play in caring for the places we share.
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