Nevada County Fire Safe Council is seeking volunteers for the 2020 Free Residential Green Waste Collection days.
With 3 sites and 18 collection days, volunteers have many opportunities to choose from. Sites are in Grass Valley, Penn Valley, and Alta Sierra. Volunteers can sign up for shifts at different sites on different days if they like.
Volunteers at each collection site will coordinate traffic, collect participant information, track loads received using a tablet/iPad, answer questions, and perform an initial inspection to ensure invasive species (blackberry, Scotch broom, poison oak) are not in the loads of green waste.
To volunteer, visit the Volunteer Hub website or call 2-1-1 (or 1-833-DIAL211).
Details
Each shift will be from 9am-3pm. The collections will take place on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays of each of the following weeks:
- May 17, 18, 19
- May 24, 25, 26
- May 31, June 1, 2
- June 7, 8, 9
- June 14, 15, 16
- June 21, 22, 23
Sign up for as many time slots as you are willing to take.
QUALIFICATIONS & TRAINING:
- Must be 18 or older. Can be 16 or 17 if attending with an adult.
- Special measures will be put in place to ensure this is a no-contact event, keeping volunteers safe from potential exposure to the COVID-19 virus. This includes training delivered via video conference, or via YouTube. Completion of a short quiz will be required after the training, as well.
- We will train you on the use of the tablets/iPads to check-in residents and show you how to spot invasive species in loads of green waste.
- Fire Safe Council requires both liability and media releases (permission to use pictures of you doing the work)
WHAT TO BRING:
A smile, a water flask, a camp chair if you need to sit down, and perhaps some sunscreen and a hat. We’ll provide everything else you need that day.
BACKGROUND:
Cost for green waste removal remains a significant obstacle for property owners when it comes to fuels reduction. In response to this obstacle, the Fire Safe Council of Nevada County (FSCNC) hosted a 2019 Green Waste Event, resulting in removal of over 500 tons of green waste from Western Nevada County.
Based on the enthusiastic response by the community FSCNC will continue this event in 2020, partnering with the Nevada County Office of Emergency Services to provide this valuable service to residents for a total of 18 days in May and June, in order to further reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire in the community.
The collection and processing of this green waste will also reduce the number of burn piles in the county, which can irritate the lungs of residents who already face respiratory challenges. If their respiratory system is already compromised, contracting COVID-19 may be even more of a threat to them.
The objective this year is to expand upon an already successful event, continuing to provide a cost-effective way for residents of Western Nevada County to dispose of their residential green waste at three convenient locations, instead of creating a burn pile to eliminate that waste.
Thank you for your commitment to making Nevada County safer from wildfire, and to helping those with compromised respiratory systems get through this difficult time. Stay safe, and well.