On a beautiful, albeit rainy Saturday, April 23, over 100 dedicated community volunteers removed about 2,360 pounds of trash, debris and recyclables from the Mendenhall Wetlands State Refuge at Sunny Point, Auk Nu Cove at Auk Bay, and the beach at Auke Bay Recreation Area. The highlight was finding and retrieving two Coast Guard buoys. Special recognition goes to Cori Mikkalo and Shea Winterberger, both representing the U.S. Coast Guard, who rolled one buoy by hand to the road. We also extend our thanks to the Alaskan Brewing Company and to Fatmo’s BBQ, who generously provided beer and free BBQ sandwiches afterward, feeding approximately 80 volunteers.
On Wednesday, April 27, NorthStar Trekking made an extraordinary contribution of two, donated helicopter lifts, totaling approximately 850 pounds of additional material, including tires, treated wood, trash and Styrofoam, that was all delivered to the landfill.
We thank the staff and members of the Southeast Alaska Land Trust, and our partners: Alaska Geographic, Discovery Southeast, Litter Free, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the Alaskan Brewing Company, Juneau Audubon Society, the U.S. Coast Guard, Waste Management, and NorthStar Trekking, for their in-kind and personal contributions to this annual cleanup.
Many thanks also to the businesses that helped us advertise the event, including the Juneau Empire. Special thanks to Sally and Frank Rue and Nancy Waterman for their coordination efforts and mid-morning muffins and coffee; to Jim and Mary Lou King for the use of their driveway to lug away trash; and to Alex and Peggy Wertheimer, Frank Rue and Amanda Pilley for providing truck transportation for getting material to the recycling center and landfill. This was a partnership, a community effort and a success.
With gratitude to all who participated,
The staff and board of the Southeast Alaska Land Trust
