CREEK WEEK 2014 EVENT SUMMARRY...CREEK WEEK 2014 SUMMARY Future Opportunities Increase participation Better tracking/reporting Focused marketing (businesses, schools, churches, service

CREEK WEEK 2014

EVENT SUMMARRY

Allison Plute and Jerry Cordova

Citizens Advisory Group

Creek Week Steering Committee

What: A weeklong, watershed-wide litter collection event

Who: Service groups, neighborhood associations,

scouts, schools, churches, and individuals

Why: Raise awareness about our watershed, the

District, and the littering issue to make our communities cleaner and safer for all

CREEK WEEK 2014 SUMMARY


How Does the District Benefit?

Largest public outreach event to date Opportunities for growth and expansion Increased traffic to website, Facebook and Twitter, building our support base for this and other efforts Simple, all ages, addresses a big issue that we all share responsibility for


Steering Committee – 14 organizations!

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

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” - Helen Keller


Sponsorship

Creek Week Champions ($5,000+) City of Fountain Lowe’s

Debris Demolisher ($1000-$4999) CH2M Hill Colorado State Extension Pikes Peak Community Fund Cheyenne/Woodmen Edition El Paso County Parks Pueblo City-County Health City of Fountain Fountain Creek WD The Greenway Fund City of Colorado Springs Keep Colo. Springs Beautiful Trails and Open Space Coalition Colorado Springs Utilities Pikes Peak Community College Xcel Energy

Rubbish Remover ($500-$999) City of Pueblo – Councilwoman Montoya

Waste Wrangler ($100-$499) Chief Petroleum Keep Pueblo Beautiful Ft. Carson

Trash Taker ($1-$99) Colorado Department of Transportation Denver Broncos Geocycle

$25,900 cash + $18,765 in-kind = $44,665


Budget

Tshirts $672.50 Printing $ 60.70 Bandannas, gloves, bags (Pueblo) $500.00 $1,233.20 Lowe’s/KAB Grant $20,000 3 Gazette ads Volunteer Trailer Tools Gloves Bags Dumpsters/hauling Port a Potty Volunteer food Gift Cards (for prizes)


Event Promotion Facebook Almost 30% increase in “likes” (followers) – currently at 127 Biggest post reach=475 for “$11 billion spent on litter cleanups in the US” Page visits September - mid October, almost daily

Gazette Ads


Event Promotion, continued

Proclamations City of Colorado Springs City of Fountain El Paso County Pueblo City-County KRCC ½ hour show taping Letter of Support From Councilwoman Montoya and Councilman Snider Postcards At State and County Fair Buell Children’s Museum Display


Registration/Site Selection

District Website •Homepage/Creek Week Tab

•Info sheet •Sponsor Letter •Registration Info – Group Leader Questionnaire •Registration Packet •Safety Video •Interactive map

•Questionnaire verification, mapping •Personal contact, personalized map


Participant Information from Survey Monkey “How did you hear about Creek Week?” Word of mouth District website Organization’s email Facebook/Twitter “How much time did you spend picking up trash?” Between 1-5 hours, most commonly 1.5 hours

“What types of litter did you find?” 100% of groups found styrofoam 96% found plastic bottles and plastic bags 88% found aluminum cans 1 weapon


Participant Information from Survey Monkey “What was the most commonly found item? 38% said plastic bags Others noted large amounts of styrofoam and clothing Additional Comments “Our group had a great day. However, we were surprised by the amount of debris from fallen trees that remain in the creek bed between Green Mountain Falls and Crystola. This was concerning” “Lots of old/new/vacated homeless camps”


“I wish City Council members had been there to see the litter” “Great community building

experience! Love the social aspect”


“It was a positive experience and I would volunteer

again”


Year 1 Results

Pueblo 225 people

340 bags + large debris 2.7 tons (5,400 pounds)

Colorado Springs Area Over 400 people

Over 500 bags + large debris 4 tons (8,000 pounds)

Watershed Total Over 625 people

Over 840 bags + large debris 6.7 tons (13,400 pounds)


Future Opportunities

Increase participation Better tracking/reporting Focused marketing (businesses, schools, churches, service groups, etc.) Grow Steering Committee Media sponsor Increase education leading up to event – huge opportunity Modify mapping database to include additional fields Better communication/collaboration with Adopt-a-Waterway groups


Questions? Comments?

THANK YOU!

Documents

CREEK WEEK 2014 EVENT SUMMARRY...CREEK WEEK 2014 SUMMARY Future Opportunities Increase participation Better tracking/reporting Focused marketing (businesses, schools, churches, service