Cordova’s Pioneer Igloo completed a highly successful cleanup on Saturday, Sept. 13.
The goal of this project was to help elders/seniors and others in need of assistance getting various larger items off their property.
At 10 a.m., a combination of 25 community and Igloo volunteers gathered at the entrance to Nirvana Park to receive their marching orders. Many brought trucks, trailers, and flat beds. Two forklifts were included.
Leading this briefing was Sharon Ermold. She was assisted by Toni Bocci, Lila Koplin, and Torie Baker. All had spent countless hours preparing for this event.
Ermold answered questions and then broke the volunteers into groups, passing out 3×5 cards with directions for each group leader.
Koplin had computer print-outs of all the sites in case there was any confusion. The spreadsheets included the addresses of the sites, detailed instruction on how to get there, description of materials to be collected, and specific directions as to whether the material should go to the burn pile, city box dumpsters, or the city baler.
The enthusiastic volunteers quickly headed to work. Cheering them on was Bocci, who with her years of experience at the ferry terminal was an expert at getting people and vehicles moving.
What set this cleanup apart from previous such endeavors was the meticulous attention to detail, including:
- Volunteers walking through areas to identify potential items for pick up;
- Door hangers listing detailed information. These hangers provided a list of items that that could be removed – including nets, tires, skiffs, pallets, treated wood, buoys, plastics, metal objects, empty oil drums, and appliances. Items that could not be taken included oil drums with liquid, cars, household liquids, paints, and refrigerators.
To assist volunteers in sorting correct destination of items, they were marked with color-coded flagging or spray paint.
Everything went so smoothly that all the cleanup was completed in two and a half hours.
“Everyone was so enthusiastic,” said Koplin. “It was a huge success due to many people helping, including the Cordova Refuse Department.”
Ermold mentioned the cleanup was restricted to Lake Avenue up to Second Street, then south on Adams.
“We weren’t sure how long it would take so we intentionally selected a small area,” she said. “The goal was to get exterior materials around houses. We will have a follow-up meeting to discuss what we can improve. We plan to continue having these cleanups in the future.”
