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In celebration of Arts Month, the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region and the Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance have joined forces to orchestrate the 2nd annual Pikes Peak Litter Letter Project—resulting in a unique piece of public art that is constructed with trash collected during Creek Week. Modeled after the national Litter Letter Project, and with permission to use their logo and concept, the local Pikes Peak Litter Letter Project aims to inspire artistic creativity, passion for the outdoors, and environmental stewardship by creating a public art piece that focuses on the efforts to keep our public lands and waterways clean.
The community is invited to participate in several clean-ups throughout our local trails and lands during National Public Lands Day (Sept. 28) and in coordination with Creek Week (Sept. 28 to Oct. 6). Participants will gather litter at several sites and then fill giant letters made from recycled metal that spell the word “PRISTINE.” The letters, constructed by Concrete Couch, will be on display at a location to be determined throughout the month of October in celebration of Arts Month. The general public is also invited to support the project though a social media contest on Instagram, by using the hashtag #PikesPeakLitterLetters to show us how you keep your community PRISTINE.
The installation of the art piece and a public dedication for the project will be held on location Tuesday, October 1st at 4:00PM, and will feature remarks by City Councilwoman Jill Gaebler, PPORA Executive Director Becky Leinweber, and Cultural Office Executive Director Andy Vick. Following the brief dedication event, there will be a social gathering at a nearby, local brewery. The public and local media are invited to attend and participate.
The Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region (COPPeR) and the Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance (PPORA), together with our other program partners, are excited to collaborate on this annual project that brings together the arts and outdoor recreation communities in a way that supports Arts Month, celebrates the outdoors, benefits the entire Pikes Peak region.
Program Partners:
Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance
Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region
Fountain Creek Watershed District
Focus on the Forest
Concrete Couch
Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services
Colorado Springs Stormwater Enterprise
3 Peaks Photography
Interested in joining a clean-up?
Contact One of the following for information about clean-ups associated with the Pikes Peak Litter Letter Project:
Thank you to our Letter Adopters!
We asked each of our Letter Adopters “Why are you doing this?” Here were their responses.
“Fountain Creek Nature Center has been involved with Creek Week since its inception and we’re on the steering committee. Our motto here is “where there is water, there is life”, so it’s important to us that our waterways stay clear and healthy for our local plants and animals, as well as to keep Fountain Creek Regional Park a beautiful place for people to visit and reconnect with nature.”
– Jessica, Fountain Creek Nature Center
“We have participated in clean ups the past few years with various grade levels getting involved. Our school is along the Ute Pass corridor and students live up and down Fountain Creek. The creek flows just across the street from the school and is a part of our community. Additionally, the school has lots of hands on activities and investigations throughout the school year that bring students into the community to study the relationship with the water.”
– Miles, Ute Pass Elementary School
“We frequently do river clean ups as a way to give back to our resources and public lands. It was only fitting that we join forces with so many other people to accomplish the beautification of our public lands. We are always down to contribute for this cause. It’s a great avenue too for the public and especially the youth to get involved in taking care of the outdoors. If we don’t teach them the value of our public lands and the outdoors then it will certainly go away.”
– Jon, Angler’s Covey
“We are a non profit organization that strives to get families outdoors and connect with nature. It only seems fitting that we should give back nature by helping clean up. We also hope showing our children how to take care of our planet will foster a love helping out that they can bring into all parts of their lives.”
– Brittany, Hike It Baby
“I think, as do so many, that Fountain Creek is a great resource. The trout in the creek represent a fantastic opportunity for a different sort of fishery in Colorado Springs, an urban fly fishery. If managed properly, this could be another reason why Colorado Springs is such a great place to live. Since I have been fishing the creek, I have noticed that it has come under distress. Some of my friends won’t fish it due to the stigma around the trash. The fishermen as a whole, I am quite sure, think that should change.”
– Alan, Trout Unlimited
“We are the Regional Parks, Trails and Open Space Division and we thought it would be relevant for us to get a letter. It is our everyday mission to help clean these areas as a part of what we do here at the Parks Department and if not for events such as Creek Week, we simply would never make a dent in the amount of trash that enters our watershed. We are very happy to be involved.”
– Scott, Colorado Springs Regional Parks, Trails and Open Space Division
