Our theme this year, “May the Forest Be With You,” gives participants an opportunity to celebrate our wonderful backyard, the forest. Several anniversaries this year celebrate the forest including the 80th anniversary of Bambi and the 30th anniversary of Fern Gully. Even more float ideas can grow from the variety of ecosystems in the Stars Wars movies as it celebrates 45 years in a galaxy far, far away. Proceeds from this year’s event will benefit the Focus on the Forest.
This year’s beneficiary is Focus on the Forest. They are dedicated to cleaning up OUR National Forests using alternative solutions to motivate and enable communities to keep OUR public lands clean. The FoF motto continues to be “ONE Piece at a Time” and this is how In 5 short years volunteers have removed over 425,000 lbs of trash, over 600 tires, completed mass cleanups with 200+ people, hotspot cleanups, removed abandoned trailers, created both a Graffiti Removal Team and also an Abandoned Campfire team. FoF partners with the US Forest Service and collaborates with numerous environmental groups and OHV clubs. FoF has over 3,400 followers on Facebook. and continues to still be 100% volunteers. FoF has expanded from Teller County to the surrounding counties (El Paso, Chaffee, Park, Douglas and Jefferson). Areas cleaned up include campsites, gun ranges, open forests, hiking and riding trails.
