Annual litter cleanup highlights community stewardship

Published 1:30 am Thursday, April 9, 2026

The Homer Wilderness Leaders’ annual litter cleanup event for youth and families returns soon. This year’s HoWL DiRtBaG Clean-Up Week will be held April 20-25 in Homer.

Since the program’s inception in 2011, 968 participating community members have picked up more than 2,000 bags of trash from multiple locations around Homer, including along the Baycrest Hill, downtown Homer, along city trails and pathways and on Homer’s beaches. HoWL program director Molly Mitchell said in an interview Saturday that last year, 68 youth participants picked up 312 bags of trash.

While the DiRtBaG program is geared towards youth and families, anyone is welcome to join the cleanup week. This free week-long event, Mitchell said, aims to make getting outside and cleaning up litter fun, as well as engaging youth in community stewardship in an exciting way.

“A lot of times we’ll focus it around group competition, like can we beat the amount of bags that we got last year?” she said.

The cleanup week culminates in a beach cleanup on Saturday, followed by a pizza party celebrating all participants’ hard work. Prizes donated by local businesses will be given to all participating youth. Special awards will also be given to youth who showed “extra effort or enthusiasm” — Mitchell noted some past awards such as “Dirtiest DiRtBaG,” for the participant who is not afraid to get extra dirty in the ditches and get that hard-to-reach trash, or “Microtrash Master,” for the participant who is focused on picking up all the small pieces of garbage and debris.

“We have some really committed Dirtbaggers who come out year after year and are there every single day, and are picking up trash in their free time as well,” Mitchell said. “Some kids get really inspired…which is pretty fun to see.”

Youth ages 8-18 may join a HoWL-supervised crew during the DiRtBaG cleanup week. Younger kids are also welcome to participate as long as they have a guardian present.

“We do get a lot of families that show up and participate, and they join other crews,” Mitchell said. “That’s always great.

“Even though it’s youth-focused, if there are adults who are really excited to pick up trash, they’re welcome to join and come get trash bags and gloves and be a part of that pick-up effort. More people helping pick up trash in the community is always great.”

Registration is currently open for this year’s cleanup week. Youth participants are asked to register for free beforehand on the HoWL website so that program leaders can estimate how many youth are coming each day. Although prior registration isn’t required, Mitchell said, it is extremely valuable.

Litter cleanup crews will meet at the Bishop’s Beach pavilion Monday-Friday, April 20-24 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. and 4:15-5:30 p.m. for after-school cleanups. Snacks, gloves, safety vests and DiRtBaG t-shirts will be provided.

For more information on DiRtBaG Clean-Up Week, including how to volunteer or sponsor a DiRtBaG scholarship, visit www.howlalaska.org/clean-up-week.