Tactic A2.2
Develop Voluntourism - Water (mid-term goal)
Develop voluntourism opportunities that focus on restoration and enhancement of Oak Creek and the Verde River.
Voluntourism is seeing more visitors give back to a destination as part of their travel experience. The SCC&TB has embraced this concept with a voluntourism clean-up partnership with the Oak Creek Watershed Council. More than 300 volunteers removed more than 2,300 pounds of trash from trails around Sedona in 2018.
This tactic builds on this success, identifying other areas that merit attention, and promoting volunteer programs that help connect tourism businesses and their guests in voluntourism efforts.
IMPACTED PILLARS
TIMEFRAME Mid-term (2-3 years)
LEAD PARTNERS Friends of the Verde River, Oak Creek Watershed Council
SUPPORTING PARTNERS SCC&TB, USFS, State Parks, Sustainability Alliance, Keep Sedona Beautiful, Other Nonprofit Organizations
ALIGNING RESEARCH Nonprofit Focus Group, Land Manager Focus Group, GSTC, Industry Best Practices
TARGET / STATUS TO DATE FY22
1. Number of voluntourism programs - TARGET = 5 / STATUS = 5
2. Number of hours donated by volunteers - TARGET = 600 hours / STATUS = 472
3. Number of visitors participating in voluntourism programs - TARGET = 150 / STATUS 118
4. Amount of trash removed by volunteers - TARGET = 1,500 lbs / STATUS = 1,900 lbs
5. Number of businesses and groups partnering - TARGET = 3 / STATUS = 3
6. Number of visitors outreached (this currently ncludes just vistors that volunteered) - TARGET = 150 / STATUS = 118
PROGRESS TO DATE
Voluntourism Programs - Water (mid-term goal)
Develop voluntourism opportunities that focus on restoration and enhancement of Oak Creek and the Verde River
FY 23: The Oak Creek Watershed Counci has held six Voluntourism events since May 2021, including four large events and two private visiting group events. Nine events that featured visiting volunteers have seen 3,100 pounds of trash and debris collected. 123 out of town visitors have contributed 492 volunteer hours.
FY22: Since late FY 21, The Oak Creek Watershed Council (OCWC) has supported voluntourism events with three business partners that collected a total of 1,900 pounds of trash and debris. The events featured 118 out of town visitors 472 visitor volunteer hours, 204 contributed by a group from California. In Fall 2021 three additional general cleanup events recruited 6 visiting volunteers and 4 residents.
The OCWC has also supported two private events, and in the most recent quarter, hosted a voluntourism-focused event on March 19 with Keep Nature Wild at Slide Rock State Park.
A final FY22 voluntourism cleanup event is scheduled for June.FY21: In the second and third quarters of the fiscal year, OCWC organized three small cleanup events with Sedona locals, picking up 143.6 lbs. of trash from the Oak Creek Watershed thanks to 37 volunteers. COVID-related restrictions limited the size and number of possible events.
In September, the SCC&TB added the Stewards of Sedona organization and their cleanup efforts to the September Local e-Newsletter and added it to the voluntourism website. The SCC&TB also added a menu for Voluntourism Events under the ‘Events’ tab on VisitSedona.com, enabling signups and linking interested visitors to hosting organizations, including the OCWC.
In March 2021, the SCC&TB issued a news release to 796 media sharing voluntourism information, added it to VisitSedona.com’s ‘Press Release’ page and to SedonaChamber.com as a blog.
OCWC partnered with the National Forest Foundation, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, and U.S. Forest Service for the summer cleanup series Pickin' Up in the Pines. On May 26th, 20 people filled a 20-yard dumpster with trash from the FR 237 dispersed camping area in just a few hours. The final FY21 event set for June 30th was postponed due to fire-related closure of the Coconino National Forest.
In March 2021, the SCC&TB presented the program to 890 national media reps in its regular Media Roundup newsletter, achieving a 30.9 % open rate and 10.9 % click through rate - very respectable numbers in a media landscape that receives hundreds of ‘pitches’ regularly.
OCWC is planning to advertise several small-group cleanups in the summer of 2021 with COVID-19 protocols in place, partnering with the SCC&TB for event promotion and with NFF and the US Forest Service for event operations. Cleanups are planned for Forest Roads 237, 535 and 525, all of which are popular, misused dispersed-camping sites outside of Flagstaff near Oak Creek Canyon. Additional events are planned for Oak Creek Canyon and the Sedona area.
FY20: In January 2020, the Oak Creek Watershed Council (OCWC) partnered with Friends of the Verde River to host an MLK Day cleanup, with 40 volunteers removing 220 pounds of trash. OCWC-led volunteers worked near the Devil's Bridge trailhead and along Dry Creek.
Although further events were postponed as the pandemic struck, OCWC and Friends of the Verde River innovated with virtual trash pick-ups, challenging residents and visitors to collect trash during their outdoor recreation and share their efforts on social media (#PurdyVerde) or email.
An August 2019 cleanup event was highly successful. The OCWC partnership with REI, the USFS, and Dark Sky Brewing attracted 50 volunteers from across Arizona and removed over 1,260 lbs. of trash. In July 2019, OCWC hosted a similar volunteer collaboration with REI and AZ State Parks, removing 650 lbs. of trash.
In calendar 2019 (the latter half of which is the first half of FY20) OCWC partnership and voluntourism events removed 2,556 lbs. of trash from the watershed, engaging 185 volunteers and educating over 750 people.
Six OCWC voluntourism events tentatively scheduled for May were rescheduled for July, August, September, October 2020 and March, April, May 2021.
The SCC&TB published a website for VisitSedona.com while promoting these resources at the Visitor Center, on the VistSedona.com event calendar and through social media.