The day dawned cool but quickly warmed up. Orientation was at 8:00 AM sharp presented by Sharon Gray. We had the BEST ever STA membership turnout with 17 members coming to pick up trash. Present were Jessica Mauer and her husband Brandon, Stephanie Gallegos and her husband Richard Fiesel, Katrina Ward, Doelle West, Ron Tuttle, Joelle Maclyn, Jan Early, Nancy Stephens, Linda Vause, Susan Wilson, Twila Wilson, Pam Freeman, Liz Rich, Sue Noyes, Joyce Papp and 2 non-members who volunteered under the STA banner, Janice Smith and Deb Stone, 19 all total. Awesome turnout! My apologies if I misspelled anyone’s name.
Some brought their UTV’s and we all brought empty feed sacks for the garbage. We have found that the feed sacks are much stronger than plastic garbage bags much to the surprise of the other volunteers. It also shows the community just how many equestrians were there helping out. After orientation, we split up into groups, some headed to Forest Road 362 off Springhill Road and the rest of us cleaned the trails at Rivers Road. All met back at Rivers Road trailhead around noon for an awesome lunch provided by Sharon Gray and the Forest Edge Neighbors. 2023 results are not in yet, but the cleanup results for 2006 – 2022 are 240.5 tons of trash.
Groups participating in the Forest Cleanup this year included Tallahassee Mountain Bike Association (TMBA), Southern Trailriders Association (STA), Forgotten Coast Jeepers, GD Off Road, SEDRA, Back Country Hunters and Anglers, North Florida Back Country Horsemen, Pi Lambda Phi, Phi Alpha Delta, Red Hills Chapter of Quail Forever, Rainbow Group, Tallahassee Fellowship Church, iHeart Media, and the Forest Edge Neighborhood.
Thank you, STA, NFBCH & SEDRA equestrian members and non-members for coming out and helping to keep the forest clean!
Joyce