Last Tuesday, 120 volunteers fanned out across 100 acres of the South Shore for Keep Tahoe Blue’s 10th annual Earth Day Cleanup. Locals and visitors, coworkers and families, as well as curious passers-by found litter to pick up, but they also found community in giving up their mornings to care for Lake Tahoe.
That’s one thing that makes Earth Day, Earth Week, and Earth Month so special in Tahoe. Everyone shows up wide-eyed with big smiles and lots of energy, ready to do what they can to protect this special place.
A big contributor to this year’s success was EpicPromise, the sustainability and community impact arm of Vail Resorts, which supported the event as part of its ongoing collaboration with Keep Tahoe Blue.
Through an EpicPromise grant, our staff and volunteers at Keep Tahoe Blue are expanding our campaign to combat pollution. This includes a wide range of programs, from our litter-fighting network of Tahoe Blue Crews, deployment of beach-cleaning robots, and data-driven litter prevention strategies targeting single-use plastics, to setting a new standard for shoreline protection through the Tahoe Blue Beach Program.
Not only do EpicPromise’s funds power our work, but their team members also turn up to volunteer themselves. A half-dozen folks from EpicPromise and Heavenly Mountain Resort joined us for the Earth Day Cleanup.
Our appreciation also goes out to our event partners, Azul Latin Kitchen, Base Camp Pizza Co., Marriot Timber Lodge and Grand Residence, South Tahoe Refuse, ECO-CLEAN Solutions, Margaritaville, and our nonprofit friends with the Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association and Tahoe Rim Trail Association for making this event a success.
Spring sets the tone for summer. Based on the outpouring of good energy at the Earth Day Cleanup, everyone should be excited for a summer of beautiful days under sunny skies and ample environmental stewardship opportunities ahead.
Visit Keep Tahoe Blue’s website, follow us on social media, and sign up for our e-newsletter to learn about all the events we have lined up and different ways to get involved. If you aren’t around for summer, you can still support the cause. Your donations power our non-profit, lake-saving work.
Together, we will Keep Tahoe Blue.
Adrián Escobedo, Community Program Director, Keep Tahoe Blue