ALPINE, Wyo. — A group of devoted Alpine citizens are banding together for a community cleanup day at the Palisades Reservoir lakebed this weekend, and all are invited.
For those interested in joining the First Annual Palisades Cleanup, registration will begin at Melvin Taproom & Kitchen at noon on Saturday, Oct. 11. Participants are encouraged to wear warm clothing and close-toed shoes. Gloves are recommended, and limited pairs will be available at the registration booth, donated by Jenkins Lumber & Hardware. Maps and garbage bags will also be distributed at Melvin.
Alpine resident Carlie Ideker, along with a group of friends who often recreate on the lake and the lakebed, have put together this community-driven event that is picking up steam with support from local sponsors. Westbank Sanitation donated a dumpster, and at least seven other Alpine businesses have contributed to the effort. Ideker told Buckrail that one of her friends originally wanted to celebrate her birthday with a cleanup due to the high amount of summer traffic the lakebed sees.
“That sparked the concept that if we’re going to do that, why not make it more of a community-wide effort and use it as a chance to, not only take care of this place, but also build some community and have some fun while we’re at it,” Ideker said. “So it really is just a coalition of local citizens who are driving it at this point.”
The group has been working with the Bureau of Reclamation’s Upper Snake Field Office, and representatives will have volunteer agreements for participants to sign upon registration. The organizers have a few locations to direct uncertain volunteers, but folks can use their discretion to safely go and garbage hunt in other areas.
“We are encouraging people to go out in groups, but we aren’t setting up anything more formal than that,” Ideker said. “I think it’s just more fun to have a little community with you as you go out and pick trash up, but it’s not a requirement.”
Starting at 3 p.m., participants can return to Melvin and trade in their trash for raffle tickets. Raffle prizes have been donated by local businesses, and winners will be drawn sometime after 5 p.m. There will also be DJ music and complimentary food for volunteers donated by Broulim’s.
“This is really the first year that we’re organizing something like this and we’re excited for the partnerships and the support both from businesses and community members,” Ideker said. “We hope that we can continue building on it into the future, to make this more of a regular community event, and in the future to have a bigger celebration as well.”
Contact Ideker for more information at (307) 851-5074 or carlie.ideker@gmail.com.
