1st Annual Kids Creek / GT Commons Cleanup
Saturday - May 13, 2017
We had a great day at the Commons on Saturday.
Our 19 volunteers were AMAZING!!!!! They were from several different
organizations but they worked together like they we best friends.
They took 4000 pounds of trash out of the woods in 2.5 hours. Who knew we
could do that? I sure would not have believed it if you told me we could do it.
Those bags were so heavy that I could not lift them without groaning- at least 50
pounds each.
The American Canoe Association provided a grant to provide supplies and a
GPS camera that helped locate and then re-find the right places in the
maze called the GT Commons. I was lost as soon as I walked in there.
With the help of Backcountry North of Traverse City, Patagonia provided a
grant for a wonderful new trailer to carry whatever we needed to. In this
case it was a golf cart which was provided for free by the
TC Golf and Country Club. Both worked great !
Burger King was so gracious to us to provide a comp meal when we were done.
Delicious.
Mike and Michelle, two homeless people who live in these woods, gathered
and staged tons of trash in large piles that made our work of getting it in
bags so much easier.
Brad Fisk was our guide in these complicated woods. He knows these places
like the back of his hand.
The City of Traverse City will dispose of this trash for us. THANK YOU !
Without any one of these items, we could not have completed this very
difficult project which has NEVER been done before.
THANK YOU! to all who helped us finally do this project.
The transformation of these locations was miraculous.
Look at these photos to see what I mean.
Norm Fred
Boardman River Clean Sweep