Team Leader Responsibilities

As a team leader, your primary responsibilities are to distribute supplies to your team, communicate important details like safety protocols and event logistics, transport collected trash from your site to the celebration party, and serve as an ambassador of the Gallatin Watershed Council by communicating our mission and purpose for holding this event.

Because of you, we can increase our impact by cleaning up additional sites across the watershed.

We are glad you are interested in being a Cleanup Team Leader!

We appreciate your stewardship and leadership.

 

What to Expect if you are Leading a Cleanup Team

Team leaders have a few responsibilities before, during, and after the watershed cleanup. Read on to see how you can make things run smoothly.

Pre-Cleanup Team Leads are Responsible for:

Recruiting team members

Choose your cleanup site and then recruit your team members. Have your recruits sign up for your site using the public sign-up link, and make sure they sign our volunteer waiver. The more the merrier!

STEP 3:

Reviewing Safety Considerations

Volunteers are required to wear gloves (both for health and protection) at all times.

Remind volunteers not to handle hazardous materials, including drums or containers that may contain toxic waste, needles, other biohazard waste, and live ammunition or explosives.

Please watch for broken glass, aerosol cans, gas cans, and other containers with chemical residues or traces of volatile materials and handle them with care.

STEP 1:

STEP 2:

Picking up supplies

Pick up supplies from the GWC office (317 W. Mendenhall St.) on Thursday, May 14th, between 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. or Friday, May 15th, 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. OR at the Team Lead Happy Hour (date and time TBD)

Team Leaders will receive…

  • Sign-in sheet with pen

    (for day of sign ups)

  • Grain bags for trash collection and extra plastic trash bags

    (if you run out of grain bags)

  • Trash grabbers

  • Disposable gloves

  • Hand sanitizer & First aid kit

STEP 4:

Review Even More Safety Considerations

Stay on public property at all times.

Sharp objects should be put in hard plastic containers.

Kids should be supervised at all times.

Please be mindful of homeless encampments. Necessary survival equipment is not trash.

Do not remove items from active encampments. If you are unsure if a camp is active or have any questions, contact HRDC @ (406) 556-1123.

The Day of the Cleanup Team Leads are Responsible for:

  1. Please arrive at your site 10-15 minutes before the event starts. 

  2. Check folks in on the signup sheet and make sure everyone has signed a waiver.

  3. Get to know each other! Start introductions with a fun question.

  4. Distribute supplies to your team.

Arrive & Welcome Your Team

Thank Volunteers & Review Safety

  • Thank cleanup members for attending.

  • Introduce the Gallatin Watershed Council and our mission for the day!

    • The Gallatin Watershed Council is a local nonprofit with a mission to guide collaborative stewardship in the Gallatin Valley for a healthy and productive landscape. Twice a year, GWC hosts Gallatin Watershed Cleanups in the spring and fall across the Lower Gallatin Watershed, from the confluence of Spanish Creek to Missouri Headwaters.

    • Removing trash and waste from our local streams, wetlands, and trails improves water quality, soil health, and habitat for people and critters in our area and for our downstream neighbors here in Montana and all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico.

  • Review the safety considerations in step 3 & 4 in the pre-cleanup information with your group

  • Tell volunteers where to bring their bags once they are full (i.e. back to your vehicle) and where to get additional bags if they need them. Volunteers may collect recyclable materials, but they must be separated and clean. There will be a dumpster at the cleanup celebration for all items collected.

Cleanup Time

  1. Get the team fired up and go pick up some trash!

  2. Take photos at the event! If you can, take a before-and-after group photo. Email them to Sarah at sarah@gallatinwatershedcouncil.org. 

  3. Keep track of the strangest things that people find—the strangest thing wins a prize at the cleanup celebration. 

Pack Up & Celebrate

  1. Pack up trash bags and unused supplies to drop off at the volunteer celebration at Bozeman Pond Pavilion after your cleanup. You’ll need a vehicle with decent storage capacity, like an SUV or a pickup truck.

  2. Head over to the volunteer celebration at Bozeman Pond Pavilion when your group finishes. We will celebrate all your hard work with food, drinks, prizes, and music! The event will begin at 1:00 p.m. with announcements and prizes at 1:15 p.m. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to get to the celebration at Bozeman Pond Pavilion by 1:00 p.m.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • We welcome anyone and everyone. Please fill out an Acknowledgement of Risk upon signing up (forms are valid for one calendar year January-December). Children are required to be with a guardian for safety reasons.

  • Team leaders collect the trash and bring it to the dumpster donated by Republic Services at the volunteer celebration. Republic Services then weighs the collected trash and ultimately disposes of it at the Logan Landfill.

  • No. Due to the dirty condition of most collected items, they can not be recycled. Therefore, we dispose of all collected items as trash. You are welcome to separate clean recyclables and dispose of them yourself, but we will not have an area for collected recyclables at the volunteer celebration.

    • Protective gloves. We will provide rubber gloves, but if you have a pair of work gloves that you prefer to wear, feel free to bring them!

    • Sunscreen and insect repellent

    • Snacks and water

    • Your team leader will provide additional safety information, hand sanitizer, trash bags, a small first aid kit, stickers, and general stoke

  • Arrive prepared to handle garbage, walk along stream banks, and wade in the river (depending on your site). We recommend that you wear high-visibility clothing or a reflective vest, closed-toed shoes or wading shoes, and long pants that you don’t mind getting wet and/or dirty.

  • Attend the volunteer celebration after the cleanup! The volunteer who finds the strangest thing will win a raffle prize. Additionally, all volunteers at the celebration will receive a raffle ticket for entry into raffles with prizes donated by local businesses. If you are interested in donating a prize or becoming an event sponsor, please email holly@gallatinwatershedcouncil.org.

  • Help us spread the word about our cleanup and the importance of a healthy watershed! If you post about this event on your social media, tag @gallatinwatershedcouncil.