Boise

SCA Celebrated its 50th Anniversary by getting dirty on the Oregon Trail!

Twenty SCA staff, alumni and friends braved blustery fall weather this National Public Lands Day to pick up four tons of debris and trash from the historic Oregon Trail in Boise, ID.We filled countless heavy-duty contractor trash bags with items like cans, plastic detritus, glass bottles, computer monitors, stereo speakers, mattresses, camper shells and even a whole motorcycle.

We worked for three hours and filled both trucks to overflowing capacity. At 12:30 p.m., we regrouped and heard some history about the Oregon Trail, as well as the plans for the proposed interpretive kiosk and trailhead at that site. After a big round of applause for our efforts and a loud shout in support of our public lands, we boarded the bus for Barber Park and lunch.

A local BBQ company provided catering, and folks were all smiles as they dug into hot pulled pork, steaming mashed potatoes and crunchy salad on the chilly Saturday afternoon. We passed out SCA 50th anniversary t-shirts, CFL light bulbs, and pamphlets on the “Cool Cities” campaign to participants. Our agency partners received special SCA hats in gratitude for their assistance with the event.

After we cleaned up the picnic area, people dispersed and the extra food was dropped off at Boise’s downtown homeless shelter in keeping with the theme of the day: waste not!