Colorado College’s Day of Service was back for its 3rd annual creek cleanup in Monument Creek! On October 4th, CC hosted over 200 total volunteers, including members of the greater Colorado Springs community.
Over the course of three 2-hour shifts, volunteers picked up trash along the stretch of creek running from Uintah to Bijou. Although many volunteers were able to bring their trash bags back to the deployment site, staff and event volunteers took golf carts to shuttle some of the heavier and dirtier bags of garbage from the creek. The day even included a visit from President Jill Tiefenthaler, who came and cheered all of the volunteers on between the second and third shifts. After the cleanup was complete, the dumpster in at 1.71 tons – over 3,400 pounds! The main three organizations on campus spearheading the logistical side of the event were Colorado College’s Collaborative for Community Engagement, the Office of Sustainability, and the State of the Rockies.
The Fountain Watershed Creek Week was initially organized in 2014 by a number of organizations in Southern Colorado, and it includes six major watershed communities in the Southern Colorado region including Colorado Springs, Green Mountain Falls, Fountain, Manitou Springs, Monument, Palmer Lake, Pueblo, and Woodland Park. From North to South, that is about 67 miles! In total, there were over 60 clean up crews covering parks, trails, open spaces, and waterways in these 8 parts of Colorado. The stretch of creek CC cleaned was one of 8 separate zones in the Colorado Springs area, totaling about 3 miles of Monument Creek, which flows just west along the downtown area.
Many of the volunteers seemed to grasp the importance of the creek cleanup – both for the natural environment and our community’s well-being. When surveyed, 90% of the volunteers said they would maybe or definitely participate in the clean up next year, and 60% said the clean up week changed their perspective on just how bad the pollution is in the waterways. The day’s work emphasized need for increased clean ups both in frequency and breadth, the need for more trash receptacles, and the need to address the issues of those unfortunate enough to be homeless in our communities. Liz Nichols, an office manager at RMFI, had the following to say about the cleanup: “My participation in Creek Week brought together several themes that are important to me. Our work at RMFI focuses a lot on erosion control, and in so much of our work area this means keeping sediment out of the Fountain Creek drainage. Our Creek Week project was picking up trash, but both endeavors contribute to the health of the watershed. Walking along the creek also reminds me of how much work remains to clean up the water itself. Its smell tells an old tired story. Much of the trash we found was generated by homeless camps along the creek. The homeless are another important issue our city is addressing, and I had not considered before this connection to a healthy watershed. The partnership with Colorado College, the Bonner Fellows we worked with, the consideration for Pueblo and our downstream neighbors highlighted the social community connections.”
Great job and a sincere “Thank You!” to everyone who participated in the cleanup and for caring about our environment!
By Sam White
Edited by Richard Bishop
