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7.95 tons of trash removed! That’s 15,900 pounds of trash no longer littering Doce Pit on the Prescott National Forest! Thank you to all of the volunteers and organizations who helped us make this event possible, including our main event sponsors, Davidson’s Inc. in Prescott and Gallery of Guns.
Click HERE to view the entire restoration.
We would like to thank everyone at Solutions 8 for being a Supporter of Natural Restorations and donating to our program. We are honored to have our program recognized by this Scottsdale-based business.
The team at Solutions 8 is on a mission to provide lasting and strategic digital marketing solutions that empower their clients to pursue their passionate purpose, enable their team members with opportunity to grow through meaningful contribution and build their local and global community through principle centered business practices.
Over 11 years, they have helped more than 500 organizations grow and scale using their proven digital marketing process. To learn more, visit their website at https://www.sol8.com.
Need for Our Restoration Projects
If you agree there is a need for our trash & graffiti removal projects in Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) areas across Arizona, we would greatly appreciate it if you would write a brief letter or email of support to include in our grant application. If you cannot sign your letter/email, please include your full name and a phone number.
Some of the areas we are targeting in our application include Butcher Jones, Mesquite Wash, Lower Sycamore, Bulldog Canyon, Sugar Loaf, Four Peaks, and the Cinder Hills in Flagstaff.
OHV & Outdoor Recreation Groups & Clubs
If you like to ride and recreate in OHV areas and you want to see these areas free from trash and graffiti and open for everyone to enjoy, please send a letter of support. Let the grant committee know what it means to you to ride on trails free from trash and graffiti and why clean trails are important to the OHV community. If you’re a member of an OHV group or outdoor recreation group, ask your Board of Directors to submit a letter of support.
Youth & Family Volunteer Opportunities
If you like that we provide volunteer opportunities for families and for youth to learn about lifelong stewardship and responsible outdoor recreation, please include that in your letter. If you have brought your kids out to our events or you belong to a youth group that volunteers with us, we would love to hear from you! For upcoming volunteer opportunities, click HERE.
General Support
If you haven't volunteered with us yet, we still want to hear from you. You can submit a letter of support to help show the grant committee that keeping OHV areas free from trash and graffiti is an important part of keeping them open for the public and future generations to enjoy. Everyone should be able to enjoy these areas without seeing trash and graffiti.
In 2017, we received a grant from the OHV-Fund managed by the Arizona State Parks Board. We completed 11 weeks of restoration projects with our Dedicated Restoration Team and removed 69 tons of trash and 557 square feet of graffiti from OHV areas across the state, including Lower Sycamore, Mesquite Wash, Butcher Jones, and the Cinder Hills OHV area in Flagstaff. We also hosted 4 volunteer events and removed an additional 12 tons of trash from Lower Sycamore, Butcher Jones, and the Cinder Hills. Learn more HERE.
LETTERS CAN NO LONGER BE SUBMITTED.
We are happy to report that we received this grant! Check it out HERE!
We are working in collaboration with Grand Canyon National Park to bring our Dedicated Restoration Team to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon for a trash removal project.
The South Rim is the most popular area of Grand Canyon National Park, boasting easy access to the canyon, the bulk of available amenities and services, and the panoramic vistas for which the natural wonder is famous. Sadly, the popularity of this area brings an increase in the amount of litter and micro trash left behind.
Help us raise funds to take our Dedicated Restoration Team to the Grand Canyon for a trash removal project.
Any and every donation helps!
If you would like to help fund the project, click the donate button below and you will be directed to PayPal. Please enter 'Grand Canyon' in the special instructions. You do not need a PayPal account to use this feature.
If your business would like to help sponsor this project, please contact us at CONTACT@NATURALRESTORATIONS.ORG
If you work at a rental agency and can help us work out a deal on a transport van to get our team of five to and from the Grand Canyon, please contact us.
Learn more about our Dedicated Restoration Team HERE.
Thank you for your support!
Coon Bluff Recreation Area along the Lower Salt River
At the beginning of the year, we made a commitment to do more to reduce the amount of plastic we use, with a focus on single-use plastics. We started taking coolers full of water to volunteer events and asking volunteers to bring reusable water bottles and hydration backpacks to reduce the number of plastic water bottles used at our events, and we started using reusable produce bags, bamboo toothbrushes, and plastic-free razors/razor blades. This month, we would like to highlight a few more products we have been using to reduce our use of plastics.
We were introduced to the awesome folks at Manatee Bags through our friend, Lilly, from Lilly's Plastic Pickup in the Netherlands. Manatee Bags is an Arizona-based company on a mission to reduce the amount of plastic dumped in our oceans every year. They donate 2% of their revenue to saving manatees, marine wildlife, and cleaning our oceans.
They were kind enough to send us some Manatee Bags to try out. We've been using them for more than two months and love them. They are breathable, machine washable, and 100% organic cotton. We love that they can be used for produce shopping and storage of greens, fruits, veggies, nuts, grains, and mushrooms. They are extremely durable and since they aren't made of mesh so you can use them for bulk bin items too. We even use them on road trips to keep all of our snacks in one place.
Check them out at https://www.manateebags.com. *Use discount code LAGOON20 for 20% off your order*
Millions of plastic straws pollute our waterways and oceans and plastic straws continue to make the top ten list of most collected items worldwide. We made a pledge at the beginning of the year to 'Skip the Straw' and it has been an easy change for us to make. Anytime we go out to eat, we ask for our drinks without a straw or plastic lid.
Our friends at the Ocean Conservancy sent us a couple of stainless steel straws and some information about their 'Skip the Straw' campaign. We would like to encourage all of you to do your part and order a drink without a straw the next time you eat out. Click HERE to take the Ocean Conservancy Pledge to 'Skip the Straw'.
If you really like using straws, you can purchase a set of 4 stainless steel straws and a cleaning brush for less than $7 on Amazon and if you select Natural Restorations as your Amazon Smile Charity, they will donate a portion of your purchase to us.
Support Natural Restorations when you shop for everyday purchases on Amazon! You can support Natural Restorations each time you make a purchase on Amazon through smile.amazon.com, and it is at no cost to you!
Click the banner above or click this link: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/81-4745055
Remember, always start at smile.amazon.com and Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Natural Restorations. Thank you for your support!
A few weeks ago, we spent a Saturday morning at Saguaro Lake with an awesome team of divers from Odysea Aquarium led by Ron Barbieri, Dive Safety Officer for Odysea Aquarium. They did an exploratory dive on the north side of the lake by the marina and let us know what kind of trash is collecting on the bottom of the lake.
It was pretty sad to see the amount of trash they located in a short amount of time. They found a metal sign, a large traffic cone, a shoe, a styrofoam cup, sunglasses, a dive sock, a piece of boat decking, several golf balls, glass bottles, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, a ridiculous amount of fishing line, and more. Stay tuned as we continue to work with this amazing team of divers on upcoming projects.
Click HERE to see all of the pictures and stay tuned as we continue to work with this amazing team of divers on upcoming projects!
More information about the grant can be found here: https://www.extremeterrain.com/clean-trail-initiative-program.html. Groups of 5 or more are welcome to apply!
We recently applied for the Clean Trail Grant to fund the purchase of rakes for volunteers to use at our 2nd Annual Lower Sycamore OHV Area Cleanup on Saturday, October 21st, 2018, and at all future cleanups. Click HERE to register for the 10/21/18 Cleanup and we will send you additional details as we get closer to October.
Don't miss out on this opportunity! More information about the grant can be found here: https://www.extremeterrain.com/clean-trail-initiative-program.html.
Check out this awesome video! We celebrated Earth Day and the 3rd Anniversary of our first Natural Restorations Cleanup by partnering with the Arizona Chapter of Mountain Chicks for a Fossil Springs Cleanup on Sunday, April 22nd, 2018. We hiked Fossil Springs Trail with an amazing group of volunteers, picking up 71.65 pounds of scattered trash found along the trail, at the Springs, and at several swimming holes. Click HERE to check out all of the pictures and learn more about this amazing adventure!
Don't donate your car or truck to some charity you have never heard of. V-Dac's trusted service makes sure your vehicle is properly handled so you get your tax deduction and Natural Restorations gets the benefit of your donation.
Start now by clicking HERE. If you are not ready to donate, find out about donating your vehicle by browsing all the valuable information and links on V-Dac's site.
Click HERE to learn more or call 1-877-999-8322.
We would like to thank everyone at Salt River Project (SRP) for awarding Natural Restorations with a corporate contribution of operating support for our programs for the second year in a row! We are extremely proud to continue our partnership with SRP!
As a community based, nonprofit public power utility, SRP makes corporate contributions to nonprofit organizations that provide programs and services which meet the needs of their customers and enhance the quality of life we enjoy. They are steadfast in their commitment to partner with nonprofit organizations that provide meaningful and beneficial programs to their customers and community.
Thank you, SRP, for recognizing the value of the programs we provide! We are excited to continue growing our relationship and providing volunteer opportunities for SRP employees and their families.
Did you know we've removed more than 3,168 square feet of graffiti painted on rock faces in outdoor recreation and wilderness areas across the state?⠀
We recently updated the Graffiti Removal page on our website. Click the blue link to check out before and after pictures of projects at Oak Creek Canyon in Sedona, the Beardsley Boulder Pile in Phoenix, and Bulldog Canyon, Lower Sycamore, Mesquite Wash on the Tonto National Forest.⠀
If you come across graffiti painted on rock faces in outdoor recreation or wilderness areas, please let us know rather than attempting removal by yourself.⠀⠀
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We proudly use an EcoBlaster Portable Pressure Washer and Graffiti Remover from World's Best Graffiti Removers.⠀⠀
If you would like to contribute to future graffiti removal projects, click HERE make a tax-deductible donation. ⠀
Happy 10th Birthday to our friend Lilly from Lilly's Plastics Pickup! In honor of Lilly's birthday on April 18th and to celebrate Lilly's Global Birthday Plastic Pickup Day we went for a walk along the canal by our house and filled a bag with 30.3 pounds of trash and plastics in 30 minutes. ⠀
It was pretty disturbing how much trash we found in such a short amount of time. We found plastic, fishing line, food wrappers and plastic food containers, fishing line, beer cans and glass bottles, a hat, a broken VHS tape, lots of plastic bags that were either in the water or half buried in the dirt and more!⠀
We would like to encourage everyone to take 30 minutes to an hour, go for a walk around your neighborhood or local park, and see the impact you can make in a short amount of time. Be sure to tag #lillysglobalcleaupdayand #naturalrestorations ⠀
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Lilly is 10 years old and lives in the Netherlands. Not only does she pick up trash and plastics in her area, she also spreads global awareness of the trash and plastics problem and brings a lot of attention to the negative impacts plastics and trash have on wildlife. Lilly is a huge source of inspiration to us! Check out her Facebook and Instagram accounts and we know you'll be inspired too!⠀
Shout out to American Rivers for their support of our cleanups of waterways!
Natural Restorations hosted a Desert Cleanup between Superior and Picketpost Mountain on Saturday, April 7, 2018. To view the entire restoration, click HERE.
We were also featured on the front page of the Superior Sun and had a nice article about Natural Restorations and the cleanup event in the paper.
Natural Restorations hosted a Day After Easter Lower Salt River Cleanup Event at Phon D Sutton Recreation Area on Monday, April 2nd, 2018. Check out the entire restoration HERE.
We teamed Delta Sigma Pi from ASU's W.P. Carey School of Business to bring a small group of volunteers out to the Lower Salt River for a cleanup at Water Users Recreation Area on Friday, March 30th, 2018. Check out the entire restoration HERE.
Saturday, March 10th, while we were removing graffiti at the Beardsley Boulder Pile for the Trim Beardsley 2018 Event, we missed the U.S. Forest Service Tonto National Forest Volunteer Appreciation Potluck.⠀
We received a U.S. Forest Service National Citizen Stewardship & Partnership Award for being a valuable member of the award-winning Tonto National Forest South Zone Volunteer Program.
Thank you to the Mesa Ranger District for presenting us with a Bronze Challenge Coin for achieving a bronze level length of service by completing over 5,000 hours for the Tonto National Forest - Mesa Ranger District.⠀
We would like to thank everyone at the U.S. Forest Service Tonto National Forest for their continued support of our program. It is a pleasure to work with all of you! Thank you to our Dedicated Restoration Team and all of the volunteers who come out to our events and make a significant impact! Thank you for the awards, bronze challenge coin, the Partner in Service patch, and water bottles!⠀
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***Not a sponsored ad. We personally purchased these products and wanted to share our opinion and how we use them in our everyday lives to reduce our use of plastics.***
We are on a mission to reduce the amount of plastics we use for Natural Restorations and in our personal lives. We started by taking coolers full of water to our volunteer events and asking volunteers to bring reusable water bottles and hydration backpacks to cut down on the number of single-use plastics used at our events.
In January, we made a personal commitment to do more to reduce the amount of plastic we use. We quickly became overwhelmed with how many changes we needed to make or products we needed to give up if we wanted to made a real change. We decided rather than do nothing because we are trying to do everything, we would pick 3 ways we could immediately make a chance and then continue making a few changes each month.
The first 3 we picked were plastic produce bags, plastic toothbrushes, and razors/razor blades. The items listed below are the products we purchased using our Amazon Smile account so that 0.5% of the purchase will be donated back to Natural Restorations.
Bamboo Tooth Brushes ($11.99) - click HERE to view on Amazon.
Twist Open Shaver ($13.95) - click HERE to view on Amazon.
Viking Blade 50 Count Platinum Coated Super Blades ($14.97) - click HERE to view on Amazon.
Earthwise Reusable Mesh Produce Bags - Set of 9 ($11.97) - Click HERE to view on Amazon.
Support Natural Restorations when you shop for everyday purchases on Amazon! You can support Natural Restorations each time you make a purchase on Amazon through smile.amazon.com, and it is at no cost to you!
Click this link: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/81-4745055
Remember, always start at smile.amazon.com
and Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Natural Restorations. Thank you for your support!
WE DID IT! Thank you to everyone who donated to the Beardsley Boulders Graffiti Removal Fundraiser! We are grateful for your generosity and support! We cannot wait to start the graffiti removal this Saturday during the Trim Beardsley 2018 Cleanup Project.
Huge thanks to Scott McDaniel from REI for working so hard to help raise funds and promote the event! It has been amazing to see so much support from the climbing community.
Stay tuned for updates as the project progresses and we restore the Beardsley Boulder Pile to it's natural beauty!
Help us raise $2,500 to purchase the supplies needed to restore the Beardsley Boulders to their natural beauty by removing the graffiti and coverup paint. Any and every donation helps!
Due to the sheer volume of coverup paint found on countless boulders in the Pencil Thin/Monkey Lust area, and the time/material-consuming meticulousness which removing it demands, the scope of graffiti removal quickly grew much bigger than our initial expectations. That's why we're reaching out to the community, and asking for your help in raising the funds necessary to promote a lasting impact on the Beardsley Boulder Pile.
Click HERE to learn more about the project and donate. Thank you for your support!
***Not a sponsored ad. We personally purchased these products and wanted to share our opinion and how we use them in our everyday lives to reduce our use of plastics.***
We are on a mission to reduce the amount of plastics we use for Natural Restorations and in our personal lives. We started by taking coolers full of water to our volunteer events and asking volunteers to bring reusable water bottles and hydration backpacks to cut down on the number of single-use plastics used at our events.
In January, we made a personal commitment to do more to reduce the amount of plastic we use. We quickly became overwhelmed with how many changes we needed to make or products we needed to give up if we wanted to made a real change. We decided rather than do nothing because we are trying to do everything, we would pick 3 ways we could immediately make a chance and then continue making a few changes each month.
The first 3 we picked were plastic produce bags, plastic toothbrushes, and razors/razor blades. The items listed below are the products we purchased using our Amazon Smile account so that 0.5% of the purchase will be donated back to Natural Restorations.
Bamboo Tooth Brushes ($11.99) - click HERE to view on Amazon.
Twist Open Shaver ($13.95) - click HERE to view on Amazon.
Viking Blade 50 Count Platinum Coated Super Blades ($14.97) - click HERE to view on Amazon.
Earthwise Reusable Mesh Produce Bags - Set of 9 ($11.97) - Click HERE to view on Amazon.
Support Natural Restorations when you shop for everyday purchases on Amazon! You can support Natural Restorations each time you make a purchase on Amazon through smile.amazon.com, and it is at no cost to you!
Click this link: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/81-4745055
Remember, always start at smile.amazon.com
and Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Natural Restorations. Thank you for your support!
