Donner Lake Volunteer Event with Clean Up The Lake

Join Four Wheel Campers and Clean Up The Lake (CUTL) for a two-day cleanup event at Donner Lake. CUTL is a Lake Tahoe-based nonprofit 501c3 that specializes in underwater cleanups, and to date they have collected 55,000 pounds of litter.

VOLUNTEER TASKS

Divers collect debris underwater, snorkelers help with spotting, and kayakers help bring debris out of the water. Volunteers who want to get in the water will have the option of snorkeling or kayaking, plus diving, with CUTL’s approval. We will have 4-6 snorkelers and up to three kayakers at a time for each of the two diving intervals. If you are an experienced scuba diver and you want to help, please let us know, and CUTL will determine whether you can dive with their team.

We will also have a sorting session with debris collected from our cleanup and previous CUTL events. Volunteers will be asked to handle, weigh and log the debris with the guidance of CUTL staff.

LOCATION + SCHEDULE

Sunday August 4: Campsite check-in starts at 2pm, 6pm for orientation and happy hour. More details will be sent via email two weeks before the event.

Monday August 5: All volunteers assisting the first interval of divers will meet at the marina around 8am for a safety/logistics briefing. Volunteers assisting the second interval of divers can either attend the 8am safety briefing and hang at the marina, OR, come to the marina around 11:30am for lunch and the second safety briefing. After lunch, both groups will work together to unload and weigh debris until 3pm.

Tuesday August 6: The sorting event will either be at the marina or the campground, and that will last from about 9am to noon. After lunch, CUTL will give a brief presentation to share more about their work in Tahoe and beyond, and we will also get a tour of their research truck, which is outfitted with a Four Wheel Campers Project M.

Wednesday August 7: Depart by 12pm

Please note: due to Tahoe's often unpredictable weather, there is a possibility that we will switch the days, and run the sorting event first, and the dive day second. We won't likely be able to give volunteers our exact schedule until a few days before the event.

CAMPING

We have reserved a large group site at Emigrant Group Campground in Tahoe National Forest (pictured above). The site has grills, tables and campfire rings, and plenty of space for any volunteers camping in tents.

WHAT WILL BE PROVIDED

• Camping
• Light breakfast snacks (granola bars, apples, bananas)
• Lunch on both days, plus beer and wine in the evening
• Snorkel gear
• Wetsuits
• Kayaks
• Trash pickers
• Trash bags
• Extra work gloves

WHAT TO BRING

• Work gloves
• Sunhat
• Sunscreen
• Layers
• Plenty of water