Earth Day, the annual event that invites people around the world to be environmentally conscious and to give back to the planet that gives us a place to live, was celebrated on Monday.Â
The League to Save Lake Tahoe, also known as Keep Tahoe Blue, wanted to do their part in a big way.
On Monday the organization invited volunteers to pick up trash around Heavenly Village in South Lake Tahoe.
Keep Tahoe Blue says that after the winter season, it's especially important to pick up the waste that's hidden beneath the snow.
"In spring it's really important when this trash comes out of hibernation to pick up this litter before it makes its way to the lake," said Marilee Movius, Senior Community Engagement Manager, League to Save Lake Tahoe.
130 volunteers lined up at 8 a.m. to come contribute.
People signed in to get their wrist bands, then received their equipment, which included grabbers to pick up trash, bins and bags to put it in, and bright neon vests so they could be spotted by passing cars.
People were given different routes to cover as much ground as possible.
"The top trash that we do see is single use plastics including straws or bottles," Movius said. "Sometimes sled debris from people sledding during the winter and so it's really important that we get this trash out of the environment and keep Tahoe blue."
While Keep Tahoe Blue put on the citywide effort, they say it's the volunteers that do most of the magic.
"I just can't thank the volunteers enough," Movius said. "The volunteers are really the lifeline of Keep Tahoe Blue."
The results of this year's cleanup show some improvement.
This year, 130 volunteers came out and picked up a total of 810 pounds of trash.
In comparison, last year 76 volunteers, about half the number of volunteers they had this year, picked up 982.5 pounds of waste.
In a nutshell, they were able to cover more surface area for this year's cleanup and found less trash to pick up.
Some of the volunteers said that getting to be a part of something like this means a lot.
"This is my first ever time volunteering with the league," said Katie Sloan, Volunteer. "I've never gone on one of their community clean ups before, but I was really glad to come up here today and protect the Earth with them."
"I've heard of the league since I was a kid you know since I've been coming to Tahoe so it feels really special now to live here and help out," said Lily Summerville, Volunteer.
