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What's
C.I.T.O. and How You Can Help Keep Duck Lake State Park
Clean?:
C.I.T.O. stands for Cache In Trash Out, meaning while your
geocaching be kind to our planet and bring some trash out of the
forest that you find while on your treasure hunt. Cache In Trash
Out is an ongoing environmental initiative supported by the
worldwide geocaching community. Since 2002, geocachers have been
dedicated to cleaning up parks and other cache-friendly places
around the world. Through these volunteer efforts, we help preserve
the natural beauty of our outdoor resources!
Annually, we celebrate International Cache In Trash Out events
where geocachers have an opportunity to participate in coordinated
worldwide clean-up efforts. Geocachers host clean-up events in
their local area on the same day or weekend as other geocachers
around the world. Together, we make an enormous positive impact.
The 9th Annual Cache In Trash Out Events are scheduled for April
30th & May 1st, 2011 all over the world; in 2010 on this
weekend there were over 400 clean-up events organized
worldwide.
Let's lend a hand to help take care of our little corner
of the planet!
Now with a little C.I.T.O. hosting experience under our belt we
understand the key to optimizing productivity and participant fun
is being well organized. Geocachers will be able to register
starting at 8:30am. At registration you can select an area of the
park on the large map available. A terrain and difficulty rating
for each respective area will be provided for reference. Clean-up
activities will occur from 9:00am on Saturday through 11:30. At
11:30 volunteers will return to the parking area for a C.I.T.O.
Event picture with all the trash treasures we find. A select group
of volunteers will disposition the refuge at a recycling center
less than one mile from the park. At noon we will shift gears from
hard labor to enjoying lunch and sharing geocaching experiences
with the local Cub Scout Pack 4048. Enter the park from the main
entrance on Scenic Drive through the first parking lot and turn
left up the hill prior to reaching the boat launch. Turn right at
the stop sign at the "T" in the road. This will lead to the parking
lot where lunch will later be served. This is where we will
distribute supplies and split up team duties. Any cub scouts that
are interested in arriving earlier to join in the park clean-up are
absolutely welcomed to assist in the spring cleaning efforts.
Park Entrance Coordinates: N 43° 20.625 W 086°
24.441
The park is need of some spring cleaning. The most abused area of
the park was recently clean-up during an Eagle Scout project. This
particular region of the park has had garbage and debris tossed at
this particular location for as long as I could remember walking
through the park. State Park and Boy Scout efforts have definitely
made a significant positive impact on this site the past few years,
but there is still room for improvement. The CITO team focused here
and neighboring trails will be the Glass Gobblers, as we see a lot
of turkeys at this particular location in the park.
Other regions of the park are also in need of spring cleaning.
Those interested in leading small cleaning teams should post a note
of the web page. The park areas needing attention will be
prioritized and color-coded maps will be provided to volunteers to
make sure the D.L.S.P. realizes the most return for the volunteer
efforts available. Some of the regional cleaning teams will include
the North Beach, North & South Scenic Dr., East & West
North-Shore, Todd Rd End., Marcus Park, Old Dump, and Four Men
& A Quad.
The UPDATED 2011 event map is complete, along with SEVEN
New Caches!
The new physically demanding Four Men and A Quad has a a couple
steel pipes entombed in concrete and a former power pole with
electrical items attached. The old stand-by physically demanding
clean up areas is on the east end of the park, labeled as Old Dump.
It contains many, many rusty steel containers, glass bottles,
bricks, and blocks, as it is a former dumping site. Volunteers will
find this another rewarding clean-up destination.
If you are interested in leading one of the regional clean-up teams
or would like to assemble your own team of cachers to work
together, please post a note and we will make it work. Thanks in
advance for your selfless acts. Posting a note would also assist on
planning for the appropriate headcount. We look forward to sharing
a fun day outdoors filled with work, adventure, food, fun, and
laughter with the local cub scout pack!
This will also provide plenty of time for volunteer cachers to
enjoy the many local caches placed to support the cub scouts
exposure to geocaching fun.
This Duck Lake State Park CITO Event has been planned in with
assistance of Muskegon State Park Park Manager. We have selected
this inviting state park along the scenic shores of Lake Michigan
because it is near and dear to our family and we would like to
share it with you. The park manager has approved the event and has
confirmed that any volunteer may be admitted to the park without
any vehicle entrance fees, just as done the previous two years.
Thank you to him and his staff for opening the restrooms and
turning on the lights!
Supplies that will be provided: trash bags, plastic recycling
plans, bottle recycling plans, water bottles, safety vests(required
for those volunteering along Scenic Dr.), trailer(s), tarps,
snacks, first aid needs, wheel barrels, hammer, drill, log book,
park map, heavy-stuff supervision, and geocaching
brochures.
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