Can’t Keep A Good Cause Down
As most everyone who follows Focus on the Forest knows our founder, Shawn Nielsen, was in an auto accident with the truck and compactor. Everyone was lucky there were no serious injuries or fatalities but our key equipment, our icon, was down for the count. Just as we were getting ready for our busy season this could have been a set back with catastrophic consequences, but with grit, determination and a few guardian angel donors we are back up and running. A new truck has been secured and the compactor will live again after a few minor repairs. Now the question is; do we keep the truck and compactor white and green like our original icon or do we go with sand and green to match our logo colors? Send us your vote.
Trash Talk
On Sunday, April 15th we were out in the forest. While none of us will ever wish away moisture, we were chomping at the bit to get out there after being snowed out the last few times we tried to organize this clean up. We targeted the area near FS300 and FS312 in the Rampart Sector with a quick side excursion to FS315 to grab some tires we had heard about. From pre-registration we were expecting about 14 people. When we kicked off the event we had 24 volunteers! In three and a half hours we packed out approximately 230 cubic feet of trash and 23 tires. We even found a trash can secured to a post several hundred yards from any trail that we packed out.
Since the compactor is still in the shop, Phil let us load up the back of his military truck with all the trash and he made the dump run for the event while Shawn hauled all of the tires to Big-O for proper disposal.
With the beautiful weather and great friends it was another successful event. Thank you to everyone who came out to volunteer.
Safety Blip:
While we all want to help keep our forests clean we want to do so in a safe manor. Any time we are out in the forest we are exposed to risks that can become serious if not handled properly. One such risk is becoming separated from the group and getting lost. On Sunday we had a volunteer become separated from the group. Luckily when he got back to the parking area and realized everyone was gone his Eagle Scout training kicked in and he did not panic. Instead he walked back into town.
To prevent such incidents in the future we will have set start and end times for events and a central booth that will have someone at it for the duration of the event. We also encourage our volunteers to always maintain visual and/or auditor contact with at least one other member of the group. Also, good backcountry principles still apply. Let other members of the group know where you are going, know your abilities and limits, and frequently turn around and look at your back-trail because it always looks different than what you just walked through.
Volunteer Spotlight:
Siri Sell joined us for her first clean up on Sunday, April 15th with her dog Solo. She had been following us for a while but due to conflicting schedules had not been able to join any scheduled events. Our mission appeals to her and being an avid outdoor adventurer the opportunity to spend the day outside with a group of like-minded people was just the thing. By the end of the day Siri volunteered to become a sector lead and take responsibility for the South Rampart Sector covering the area from just north of the Rampart Reservoir trail head to the reservoir entrance along FS300. Welcome to the Focus on the Forest family Siri, we look forward to seeing you and Solo on our future clean ups.
Upcoming Events:
Here is a brief list of upcoming events. Check out our website for event details and email us to get involved.
4/28/2018 – Scout Day clean up at Rainbow Falls
5/19/2018 – Spring Focus on the Forest Day; Above the Clouds chapter at Rainbow Falls & Tri-Lakes chapter at Lower Gold Camp Road
7/5/2018 – Volunteer support for Symphony Above the Clouds
Focus on the Forest Needs You:
We are looking for people interested in being Group Leads for our upcoming Focus on the Forest Day event.