Allison Plute Creek Week Steering Committee/CAG Outreach Chair

Colorado Springs Utilities Watershed Planning

2015 Creek Week Summary Report

And Photo Collection

Second Annual Creek Week September 26-October 4, 2015

What: A 9-day, watershed-wide

litter & debris collection event

Who: Service groups,

neighborhood associations, scouts, schools, churches, and individuals

Why: Raise awareness about the

Fountain Creek watershed, our water supply, the District, and the littering issue to make our communities cleaner, safer and more beautiful.

UCCS Clean the Stream Team

Community Benefits

Make a difference Quick, fun and easy, 1-2 hour commitment Anyone can participate - all ages, demographics Addresses a big issue that is an eyesore, safety issue, contributes to flooding and impacts water quality

CREEK WEEK 2015 SUMMARY

Steering Committee – 18 organizations (4 new this year)

CH2M City of Colorado Springs – Parks and Stormwater City of Pueblo City of Fountain City of Manitou Springs Colorado College Colorado State Extension El Paso County Parks Colorado Springs Utilities Fountain Creek Watershed District Ft. Carson Pikes Peak Community College Pueblo City-County Health Department Sierra Club (Pueblo and Pikes Peak Chapters) Team Rubicon The Greenway Foundation Trails and Open Space Coalition University of Colorado – Colorado Springs

“The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual” - Vince Lombardi

2015 Steering Committee Members

CREEK WEEK 2015 SUMMARY

Sponsorship and Contributions

Creek Week Champions ($5,000+) City of Fountain Colorado Springs Utilities

Debris Demolisher ($1000-$4999) CH2M El Paso County Parks Keep Colo. Springs Beautiful City of Fountain Fountain Creek District Pikes Peak Community College City of Colorado Springs Greenway Fund Pueblo City-County Health Colorado Springs Utilities Home Depot Trails and Open Space Coalition Colorado State Extension

Rubbish Remover ($500-$999) City of Manitou Springs Fountain Utilities MWH Global City of Pueblo Parks and Stormwater Imprinted Sportswear Pikes Peak Sierra Club ENT Federal Credit Union Keep Pueblo Beautiful Rocky Mtn. Distributors Fieldhouse Brewery Matrix Design Group Teller-Park County Conservation Dist.

Waste Wrangler ($100-$499) Airgas Colorado Springs Independent LexisNexis REI Chick-Fill-A DOW Chemical Manitou Springs Elementary Walmart Pueblo Colorado College Gold Camp Brewery Old Town Bike Shop Whole Foods

Trash Taker ($1-$99) Geocycle McAbe’s Tavern Starbucks The Summit Trader Joe’s Navajo Hogan Steering Committee 1008 hours, $20,160.00 value

$8,600 cash + $5,785 in-kind + SC $20,160 = $34,545

CREEK WEEK 2015 SUMMARY

Budget

Tshirts $2092.00 Water Bottles $1370.29 Independent/Chieftain Ads $1345.00 Trash Grabbers/Gloves $ 741.37 Printing $ 333.92 $5,882.58

Team Atmel UCCS Clean the Stream Team

CREEK WEEK 2015 SUMMARY

Event Promotion Social Media Facebook page visits September - mid October, almost daily Up to almost 200 followers

Independent Newspaper Ad

Save the Date Cards

Commercial

State Fair Booth

Event Posters

CREEK WEEK 2015 SUMMARY

Event Promotion, continued

Proclamations City of Colorado Springs City of Fountain City of Manitou Springs El Paso County Pueblo City-County

Manitou Springs Proclamation

El Paso County Proclamation Pueblo County Proclamation

CREEK WEEK 2015 SUMMARY

Event Promotion, continued

Business Promotions Fieldhouse Brewery Gold Camp Brewery Navajo Hogan

CREEK WEEK 2015 SUMMARY

Registration/Site Selection

District Website •Homepage/Creek Week Tab

•Info sheet •Sponsor Letter •Registration Packet •Safety Video •Interactive map

•Personal contact, personalized map •Post event survey links

Colorado Springs Utilities at Pikeview

CREEK WEEK 2015 SUMMARY

Participant Information from Survey Monkey How did you hear about Creek Week? Word of mouth Organization’s email How much time did you spend picking up? Average 2 hours

What types of litter did you find? All groups reported finding some of each Item:

Aluminum cans Alcohol bottles Cardboard Paper Cigarette butts Plastic bottles Old clothing Plastic bags Fast food packaging Styrofoam Glass Construction site waste

Team PPA

Team Bonefish Grill

CREEK WEEK 2015 SUMMARY

Participant Information from Survey Monkey What was the most common item found? Cigarette butts Plastic bottles, plastic bags Fast food wrappers Strangest items found: I-Pad Mini Section of gutter from a house Garden umbrella in original box Hammer Office furniture Half full bottle of ketchup

CEC Crew

Manitou Springs Elementary School Team CH2M

CREEK WEEK 2015 SUMMARY

From Survey: Other ideas on how to address littering in Fountain Creek Watershed:

•Public campaigns – signage by kids •More cleanups throughout the year •News stations should promote •More trash cans along trails •Address homeless issue •Trash Traps

Cheyenne Creek Conservation Club

PPA Team Fountain Creek Kickoff

CREEK WEEK 2015 SUMMARY

From Survey: How has Creek Week changed the way you think about our waterways?

•“I have become more aware of litter on the streets and that it ends up in creeks” •“They are even dirtier than I thought” •“Made us aware of the impact our playground and parking lots have on our local watershed” •“More awareness”

Colorado College EnAct Team CFC Crew

Centennial FRESH Club

CREEK WEEK 2015 SUMMARY

Team UpaDowna Team PPA

CREEK WEEK 2015 SUMMARY

Sierra Club - Pikes Peak Group

Pueblo Girl Scout Troop 961

Pueblo Wednesday

Weeders

CREEK WEEK 2015 SUMMARY

Year 2 Results Chipeta Park

30 people 20 bags + large debris

Colorado Springs 535 people

412 bags + large debris

Fountain 193 people

210 bags + large debris

Manitou Springs 572 people

34 bags + large debris

Pueblo 210 people

256 bags + large debris

Woodland Park 9 people 12 bags

2014: 625 people, 42 groups, 6.8 tons 2015: 1550 people, 57 groups, 9.4 tons

1550 citizens 944 bags

18,880 lbs. 9.44 tons

CREEK WEEK 2015 SUMMARY

New for 2015: International Coastal Cleanup Program

We contributed our data and received support from the Ocean Conservancy

560,000 total volunteers 91 countries Over 16 million pounds of trash!

Centennial FRESH Club Alice & Tulip - Pueblo

CREEK WEEK 2015 SUMMARY

Special Mention: Manitou Springs Elementary School

•$100 from Parent Organization •All 500 K-5th grade students participated

•5th graders taught Kindergartners about watersheds

CREEK WEEK 2015 SUMMARY

Special Mention: Cheyenne Creek Conservation Club aka “Stream Team”

•400 students have participated in this River Watch program over 19 years •Mark storm drains, clean up litter, cleaned up after flooding, plant trees, collect water quality data •Awarded Best EE program in CO in 2009 •Creek Week 2014 and 2015

CREEK WEEK 2015 SUMMARY

2016 Updates

New Steering Committee members Targeted marketing for participation and sponsorship – grants? Coupon books for participants Buffs instead of shirts Pre-selection of areas in need Wal-Mart Volunteerism Always Pays and other corporate programs Simplifying registration/Crew Leader info In-water teams?? 100% Board Participation???

Floating Trash & Debris in Fountain Creek

SAVE THE DATE: SEPT. 24-OCT 4, 2016

THANK YOU! Allison Plute

aplute@csu.org 719-668-4686 Marsha Brewer & Friends Frontier Girls Team

Fountain Creek Kickoff Team PPA