When WTMC steward, Kristi Geiger, invited me to join her and her daughter, Rhyan, to pick up litter on the popular Waterfall Trail in the White Tank Mountain Regional Park back in November 2021, little did we know that Rhyan would decide to become a steward and take on the task of leading monthly clean-ups.
During Rhyan’s orientation, she expressed interest in helping with volunteer engagement and suggested inviting volunteers, family and friends to join us once a month to help clean up trails and picnic areas in the White Tank Mountain Regional Park. Armed with gloves, bags and litter picker-uppers, our clean-up crew numbers grew gradually during 2022 and, at the beginning of 2023, we decided to extend the invitation to the public through social media. Our group now averages 15 people and we have hosted two large clean-ups for members of a local Rotary Club and EPCOR employees.
Once a month (September – June) on a Saturday morning, we meet in the Nature Center parking lot and carpool to one or two of the trailheads and/or recreational areas that have picnic ramadas and playgrounds. In January this year, we started to record the weight of the trash picked up and, as of June 30, we have removed 128.7 pounds. Most of the trash consists of plastic bottles, cans, broken glass, dog poop, party decorations and food wrappers. The most unusual items retrieved were a dried-up bouquet of flowers (on Valentine’s Day), a large amount of rebar, and several Easter eggs containing candy and dollar bills!
The park rangers appreciate our efforts as the maintenance crew does not have the time to search for micro trash, which is just as damaging to animals and the environment as larger items.
In April we were approached by Phoenix News Channel NBC12 who wanted to showcase our efforts in an Earth Month news feature. A photojournalist interviewed Rhyan and Board Member, Chris Judd, and accompanied us into the White Tanks to witness our hard work.
Rhyan is dedicated to leading the Clean-Up team, so much so that she led the May clean-up on the morning of her wedding! Thank you, Rhyan, for all your hard work to help keep the White Tanks Wild!
Valerie Madarasz
WTMC Outreach Coordinator