IVCBA LEADS WITH SERVICE AS A
“Keep Tahoe Blue” Crew By Ashleigh Easley
IVCBA IS DEDICATED to building and growing cohesiveness for the sustainability of Incline Village and Crystal Bay. To sustain our crown jewel we must take action; IVCBA decided to become a Blue Crew leader. We invite you to take action with us. We will be planning our clean up days around high traffic/use days and hope to join forces with the other crews in our area. On September 28, 2021 Keep Tahoe Blue: The League to Save Lake Tahoe hosted it’s Tahoe Blue Crew (TBC) Leader training. Each summer they host a 45-minute session to empower individuals and business owners alike to protect Tahoe from microplastics and other waste. This meeting included approximately fourteen Lake Tahoe lovers who listened intently as Marilee Movius, Community Engagement Manager of The League to Save Lake Tahoe explained what she meant when she said “Lake Tahoe is being loved to death”. Those words and the sheer gravity of the situation are enough to make anyone take a double look. There are several jaw dropping numbers reported annually. First, the total number of visitors who come to the Tahoe Basin, is estimated at 15 million visitors per year according to our friends at the Tahoe Fund. Keep Tahoe Blue’s assessment is that there are three reasons people neglect to clean up trash. In short, they have no personal connection to the area, they think someone else will pick up after them, and the lack of trash receptacles. Since TBC was started in 2019, 124 crews have completed over 800 cleanups. During these cleanups, Tahoe Blue Crews have removed*: • 14,705 pounds of trash • 40,451 cigarette butts • 38,497 plastic pieces
In 2014, the adopt-a-beach program began its journey of rebranding to become what we now know as the Tahoe Blue Crews. The official relaunch happened Labor Day of 2019 and quickly grew to 124 active crews. This means that three times per year there are 124 crews who gather at an “adopted zone” and join forces to pick up cigarette butts, plastics, and more trash. IVGID and IVCBA will be teaming up to offer, at separate adopted sites, one clean up will be offered in the spring after the snow melts, shortly after the 4th of July and one last clean up in September. Joe Hill, Public Works Technician and TBC Leader for IVGID said: “The Tahoe Blue Crew empowers local volunteers to commit to protecting our community through litter clean ups. Whether the events are organized amongst a group or initiated by sheer willpower of the individual, no impact is insignificant. The Blue Crew’s efforts have resulted in countless pounds of trash removed from Tahoe’s watershed so far; it never seems to end. While park staff and dedicated community members pick up litter every day, the attention that our region receives as a travel destination and high-quality place to live requires additional hands on the ground to keep up with the mess left behind. No one is proud of littering, but it happens consistently whether intentional or not. Besides education, outreach and enforcement, all we can do is set a good example. After all, our community is happiest and most prosperous when we can rely on a healthy environment to thrive in.” If you would like to join the IVCBA Blue Crew or to find another crew to join in IV/CB please contact Ashleigh; ashleigh@ivcba.org or by phone (775) 8335252. *DATA PROVIDED BY KAT WALTON OUTREACH ASSOCIATE, LEAGUE TO SAVE LAKE TAHOE.
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