FLAGSTAFF — On Friday, April 22nd, communities around the world will celebrate the 52nd anniversary of Earth Day. This year’s theme is “Invest In Our Planet.” Coconino County, in partnership with Friends of Coconino County Parks, the City of Flagstaff, Flagstaff Parks, Recreation, and Open Space, and the U.S. Forest Service are partnering to facilitate three cleanup events throughout the community.
The partnership initially started to help address the trash and debris left behind in snow play areas and evolved into organizing trash cleanups the week of Earth Day. These organizations plan to continue partnering to address issues of safety and trash with snow play; this includes providing education and outreach about safe and responsible recreation. These organizations are planning to facilitate future cleanups with a goal to expand to other areas of the county where snow play trash, debris, and safety are problematic.
The first cleanup will be along Highway 180 on Wednesday, April 20th. The second will be at Fort Tuthill County Park, Thursday, April 21st, and the third will be at Ashurst Lake on Friday, April 22nd. All events are from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., which include a fun activity and prize drawings as a way of saying “thank you” to those who volunteer. Prizes will include gift certificates to local sporting good locations and a grand prize drawing for a free night’s stay at one of the Arizona Nordic Village yurts.
For those who cannot make the volunteer events, County, City, and Forest Service staff encourage folks to invest in their community by volunteering on their own and pick up trash in and around their neighborhood or place of work, take a picture, and upload to social media using #NAZEarthDay22. To sign up for the volunteer clean-up events, please visit: https://www.coconino.az.gov/2890/Upcoming-Events. A limited number of volunteer spots are available for each cleanup. Volunteers under the age of 18 will need to be accompanied by an adult.