Livingston County Residents enjoyed participating in an Earth Day Scavenger Hunt over the weekend of April 22-24 put on by Livingston County United Way and a host of collaborative partners.

Participants were invited to explore our county’s sustainability offerings and to practice simple ways they can be better stewards of our natural resources.  Teams were challenged to complete missions addressing topics such as conservation, protection and clean-up of natural spaces, waste reduction, reusing and upcycling goods, recycling, green gardening practices, and just plain enjoying the great outdoors.  Twenty seven teams combined strategy, creativity and hands-on projects to address each challenge with a total of 314 missions completed.  Once all mission points and bonus points were awarded, the top 5 Teams were:  1^st prize:  Earth Angels of LCCC, 2^nd prize, Green Club, 3^rd prize, Howell High School Interact Club, 4^th prize, hehehehaw, 5^th prize, Lake Squad.

Livingston County United Way wishes to thank our business, government, nonprofit and individual event collaborators who provided missions and prizes to entice people to learn more about and engage with the great sustainability resources that are already here in our county:  Bordines, Crossroads Group of the Sierra Club, Dow Gardens, Finding Roots, Grasshopper Gardens, Habitat for Humanity, Howell Nature Center, Lacasa Center, Livingston County Planning Department, Livingston County Drain Commissioner/Solid Waste Department, Meijer Flowerland, Mom’s Clean Air Force, MSU Extension, Mt. Brighton, Recycle Livingston, SCRAP Creative Reuse, Spade Studio , Wild Birds Unlimited, WM and more!

“We are so fortunate to live in a county rich with parks, lakes, rivers and land.  By pulling together as a community we can work to preserve the beauty of these treasured natural resources for generations to come”, stated Nicole Mandziuk, Development Director at Livingston County United Way.

“This scavenger hunt was a fun way to spend time with family and friends celebrating Earth Day.  I think we’ve all had that moment where we went to toss an item in the trash and paused, knowing it probably shouldn’t go into a landfill.  We hope the scavenger hunt gave residents a few practical ideas about what to do and where to take those things in moments like those. It’s those tiny steps we can all take that will lead to big, positive impacts.”, said Liz Welch, Community Investments Director at Livingston County United Way.

When asked what their favorite part of the Scavenger Hunt was, Team Bear Den (Steven Bearden, Gwen Haggerty-Bearden, and Casey Haggerty) replied: “It combined fun, learning and hands-on activities in our community.  We love our planet and want all living organisms to thrive!”

Livingston County United Way looks forward to continued collaborations with our sustainability partners.  If you or your organization would like to join the conversation, please reach out to Nicole Mandziuk at nmandziuk@lcunitedway.org or (810) 494-3000.