You may have seen them on State Route 247/ Old Woman Springs Road, usually the third Saturday of every month. They’re wearing bright green safety vests and hard hats, and they’re carrying grab sticks and trash bags. Though they’ve been mistaken for prison inmates on work release, they are “Landers Team Up to Clean Up” volunteers collecting litter.
After completing mandatory safety training back in 2018, Landers booster Judy Laffoon joined CalTrans’ Adopt-A-Highway litter collection program. She organized and trained a small group of volunteers and agreed to pick up trash along a two-mile stretch of the rural desert highway. They took the name, “Landers Team Up to Clean Up,” and in compliance with CalTrans’ requirements, they again committed to a few hours one Saturday a month for five years. Last month, the group renewed that commitment, vowing to keep the highway litter in check from Whalen’s Wash to Jesse Road until November 2028. What keeps the half dozen core group of volunteers motivated? Laffoon points to two motivating factors: the sense of community pride that comes from making things look better, and the supportive honks and waves they receive from passing motorists.
