One Person's Trash Is Another Person's Treasure

The Senior Team and Education Department recently provided some Leave No Trace outreach at Lair O’ the Bear Park, a popular frontcountry recreational site just west of Morrison, CO in Bear Creek Canyon. On any given weekend in the summer, the area is populated by individuals and families going mountain biking, hiking, fishing, picnicking and wading in Bear Creek.

In order to engage some of the day visitors, we stashed various pieces of trash attached to small signs in English and Spanish that read “Thank you for helping keep this park clean. Please bring this piece of litter to the Leave No Trace booth for a prize!” The activity was a creative way to engage children and families, as many returned from their outings with full grocery bags of trash and recyclables they’d collected. After receiving a small prize they were also eligible to place their name in a drawing for a Coleman tent, which was set up complete with a "Leave No Trace" campsite. The picture shows some of the participants with their wares.

Needless to say, the park was a lot cleaner when we left it since so many of the participants went above and beyond showing that a little creativity in outreach and education goes a long way!