Annual Granite Creek Cleanup continues volunteer tradition.
Several hundred eager volunteers formed teams of one to 20 people. Participants included a range of volunteers, from individuals, to co-workers, families and neighbors, mostly friends, but also some complete strangers.
Since 2007, the event has been hosted by Prescott Creeks, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to achieve healthy watersheds and clean water in Central Arizona. The history of the event dates to the 1980s, when it began with Keep Prescott Beautiful, sponsored by the City of Prescott through 2006.
On average, about 470 volunteers reportedly turn out each year, together contributing more than 7,000 hours in community service through the years.
Prescott Creeks Executive Director Michael Byrd spoke to Quad Cities Business News after the pre-registration cut-off at the end of March. “We have a little more than 500 participants signed up this year, slightly above our average, so we’re pretty excited.”
The volume of waste collected is impressive. Last year, volunteers collected 0.85 tons of trash and debris, according to a report by the City of Prescott Solid Waste Division.
“The overall trends are that more people are wanting to be involved, and we are actually finding less and less trash as time goes by,” Byrd said.
There are more than 50 different designated areas assigned to the volunteer teams – creeks, trails and parks – but the focus is on waterways and watersheds.
“A watershed is an area of land that all drains to a central body of water,” Byrd explained. “So, here in Prescott, we are in the Granite Creek watershed. The Granite Creek watershed is part of the Verde River watershed. The farther downstream you go it collects more and more watersheds. Even the Granite Creek watershed can be broken down into smaller chunks.”
Each year, sponsorship for the Granite Creek Cleanup has been enthusiastic and represents a rich cross section of Prescott, said Byrd, including businesses ranging from sandwich shops to homebuilders, as well as civic groups, nonprofit organizations and individual sponsors.
This year’s primary sponsor is Findlay Subaru Prescott, with the “The Subaru Love Promise” and its five core pillars: Environment, Health, Education, Pets and Community. QCBN
By Betsey Bruner, QCBN
Photo courtesy of Prescott Creeks/J. Hardesty: Two volunteers took a moment to pause as they spent the day removing litter in the 2024 Granite Creek Cleanup event.
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