Volunteers Clean Up Lady Bird Lake and Trails for Earth Day
A spirited group of over 1,800 volunteers answered the call last Friday, congregating at three locations along Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas. Their mission? A robust cleanup operation of the lake and surrounding trails in honor of Earth Day.
In the Third Annual Cleanup Event of its Kind
Friday marked the third successive year for the Earth Day Lake and Land Clean Up initiative. Hosted by Rowing Dock, it was an event intended for the benefit of the Trail Conservancy. Cleanup stations stationed at Rowing Dock, Epic SUP, and Festival Beach saw volunteers dutifully collecting trash either by kayak, paddleboard, or on foot.
Volunteers Driven by Common Purpose
“There’s an undeniable link between growing population and increasing trash build-up. That’s the unfortunate reality,” said one organizer at the event. Utilizing a tone that underscored both concern and determination, they added, “Today’s mobilization is all about fulfilling our responsibility to this space that we cherish and proudly call home.”
Building on Past Successes
In its previous year, the cleanup event saw encouraging results, as a workforce of 1,400 volunteers successfully removed an astounding 8,000 pounds of trash. This year, aside from the goal of exceeding last year’s collected waste, organizers also sought to make the event even more enjoyable. They did this by incorporating kayaking into the cleanup routine and offering up a fair share of prizes for various victories, from the most trash collected to the strangest item found.
Increasing Trail Awareness
According to an interim CEO from the Trail Conservancy, “Our trails see almost 5 million visits every year. More than the Grand Canyon! It’s commitment from volunteers that reminds people to clean up after themselves. After all, every day should be Earth Day.”
Funded by the Community, For the Community
The event was principally backed by community patrons such as Juiceland, Easy Tiger, Via 313, Thundercloud Subs, AMD, Silicon Labs, and Austin FC. Community volunteers were allowed to enter the cleanup operations for free, whereas a marginal fee was applied to corporate volunteers. All proceeds from corporate volunteers were channeled back to the Trail Conservancy to support future lake and land clean-ups in Austin, Texas.