Lower Salt River Land & Water Cleanup

Join Natural Restorations, Salty Scuba Squad & Riverbound Sports for a Land & Water Lower Salt River Cleanup at Sheep’s Crossing Recreation Area

Sign-in: 6:30-7am | Safety Briefing: 7 am | Cleanup Ends: 11am

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/629633479687

Please arrive before 7am so you can park and sign-in before the safety briefing starts at 7am. Temps are going to heat up quickly, so we want to get started as early as possible.

Everyone is welcome, including youth volunteers when they are accompanied & supervised by a parent, guardian, or adult group leader. We would be happy to sign off on service hours or provide a
Confirmation of Volunteer Service letter for youth volunteers.

Volunteer Paperwork: A few days before the event, we will send you a volunteer waiver. Please help us save time Saturday morning by printing the form, filling it out, and bring it with you. We will have extras at the sign-in table if you don’t have access to a printer or forget your paperwork.

Event Staging Location: Sheep’s Crossing Recreation Area, Fort McDowell, AZ 85264

Directions: Everyone is meeting at Sheep’s Crossing Recreation Area for sign-in, safety briefing, and game plan for the morning. When you arrive, park, and walk over to the shaded picnic area towards the back of the parking lot and follow the flags and signs down to the river where we will have tents
set up to turn in your volunteer paperwork.

GPS Coordinates: 33.556313, -111.577699

***Do not use the EventBrite map to get there, it could send you to the wrong location. Use the GPS coordinates above to get to the event staging location***

Plug the GPS coordinates above into your phone or mapping system, or search Sheep’s Crossing Recreation Area, Fort McDowell, Arizona.

Volunteers on foot: volunteers can explore the trails and riverbanks at Sheep’s Crossing and/or walk across the bridge over to Blue Point and Pebble Beach to pick up trash along the riverbanks and through the recreation areas. We also need volunteers to assist the Salty Scuba Squad with trash bags as they remove trash from the pools at Sheep’s Crossing and Pebble Beach.

Volunteers with kayaks & SUP’s: bring your kayak or SUP to help us remove trash that volunteers on foot cannot reach around Sheep’s Crossing, Blue Point & Pebble Beach. We do not recommend running the river down to Phon D for this cleanup. The river is running fast and you would need to get off of the river to safely pick up trash which won’t leave you enough time to get back to Sheep’s by 11am when we wrap up.

What to wear: Check the forecast before you head out so you can be prepared & dress accordingly. Please wear comfortable clothing & shoes that can get dirty, muddy, and possibly wet if you chose to go in the mud or water. Wear long pants, thick-sole & closed toe sturdy shoes for safety (no flipflops/sandals). Wear a hat, sunglasses for eye protection, and sunscreen.

If you have water shoes, waders, or an old pair of shoes, this would be a great time to use them.

What to bring: please bring a reusable water bottle or hydration backpack. We will have water coolers full of ice water for you to refill your bottle or pack. We will provide gloves, bags, trash grabbers, & the dumpster. You are welcome to bring your own gloves & grabbers if you have them. If you would prefer to use a bucket, you’re welcome to bring a bucket for trash but you will need to walk it to the designated dumpster each time it’s full and having it in a bag will keep trash from blowing out of the dumpster. Put masking tape with your name & number on any tools you bring.

Adult volunteers, bring a pocketknife with you if you have one to help get clothing and sheets caught in the vegetation.

*If you have any allergies that you carry an epi-pen and antihistamines for, please do not forget to bring them with you. This is a wilderness area along the Lower Salt River so it’s best to prepare for anything.

Snacks: We will have snacks for volunteers. If you have any dietary restrictions, you may want to bring your own snack. You could bring a small cooler in your vehicle with cold beverages and snacks if you’d like.

Tonto Recreation Pass: You do NOT need one to participate in the event! If you plan to stay after the event, please purchase a Tonto Precreation Site. There is a kiosk at recreation areas along the river.

Bathrooms: There are vault toilets open to the public at Sheep’s Crossing.

NR Merch: We will also have NR branded t-shirts, hats, stickers, and Tru Flasks available for a donation. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Gilbert & 100% of the proceeds go towards our Restoration Programs.

Groups: Please have your group leader email Nicole at contact@naturalrestorations.org for a group sign-in sheet to save time the day of the event. The group leader can get everyone in their group signed in then one person can turn the sheets into us at the registration table.

If you have any other questions, please email Nicole at contact@naturalrestorations.org