Updated: Swaner Preserve seeks volunteers for annual Earth Day Cleanup

After the snow melts, garbage and harmful objects appear in the Swaner Preserve. The annual cleanup helps eliminate these items from the land to protect wetland and wildlife in the area. Photo: Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter.

PARK CITY, Utah. – The Swaner Preserve and EcoCenter’s annual Kimball Junction cleanup is Saturday, April 30. Groups and individuals sign up online for two-hour timeslots from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. All timeslots are still seeking volunteers, especially the afternoon hours.

Volunteers will check in on the plaza in front of the Swaner EcoCenter and be given instructions, materials, and a designated cleanup area.

This cleanup’s focus is to pick up trash that has accumulated all winter and reappeared with the snowmelt, which, if left untended, would end up in the Swaner Preserve and interfere with wildlife and wetland life.

“Some of the spots we go to can be messy, but most of the trash is stuff that emerges from the snowmelt,” said Swaner’s Community Engagement Manager, Janna Coulter. “A lot of the pickup areas are throughout Kimball Junction, so across the highway or through neighborhoods. Most of it will not be particularly muddy or wet. So, wear comfortable walking shoes and whatever is comfortable that day given the weather.”

Community partners for this year’s cleanup are Bartolo’s, Hearth and Hill, Bee’s Wrap, Newpark Town Center HOA, and PC Yoga Collective. Bartolo’s will provide coffee and snacks, and volunteers are entered into a raffle for prizes and gift cards from participating sponsors.

*The event was pushed back from April 23 to April 30 due to inclimate weather.