A member brings a bucket on a fishing trip to Turtle Creek Reservoir. Photo courtesy of Scot Reeder
The “5 gallon challenge” was started by Scot Reeder and his wife in June. A resident of Tipton. Reeder says he came up with the idea while fishing.
“We have a camper that we keep at a campground down in Fairmount all year. I like to fish there, so I was fishing at Turtle Creek Reservoir and I got tangled up in a fishing net. I didn’t fall or anything, but I thought if I was older I would have gotten hurt. I thought, what can I do about this? I had a five gallon bucket in my pickup truck, so that’s where the idea started, to just fill up my bucket with trash and debris from the area.”
The first organized event took place at Mississinewa Reservoir.
Reeder said, “We were expecting about 10 people or so, but we had 28 people show up the first time we did it. We handed out buckets, but some people brought their own. Some people even came out with their kayaks to help out. The DNR donated trash bags.”
During another cleanup effort, Reeder says he and his wife went to Worthington’s public access boat ramp and noticed there were no trash receptacles. He and his wife brought the trash back with them to their home in Tipton and called the DNR. He says after the conversation, the DNR has become a supporter of his cause, with a member of their staff promoting the challenge on social media.
In order to promote the cause, Reeder and his friend created bumper stickers. He explained, “My friend owns a sign shop, Pro Signs and Graphics in Tipton. He sent me the proof and we shipped the bumper stickers all over the country for free to get the word out.”
The group’s promising start has been made possible by the support received from the community. His local Ace Hardware in Tipton donated a skid of 120 buckets, a local bar donated $200, and several others have chipped in with small donations to help with shipping and fuel expenses.
For Reeder, the current pandemic has posed challenges in acquiring sponsorships from businesses.
“It just makes you more reluctant to go person-to-person,” Reeder said.
The group has hit over 1,000 members since its beginning just two months ago. According to Reeder, he has been working with the Indiana Dept. of Natural Resources Division of Fish and Wildlife and he’s looking into recruiting volunteer ambassadors to lead the effort in locations throughout the state.
The group’s next organized event is scheduled to take place at Greene-Sullivan State Forest on Saturday, Sept. 19 from noon to 4:30 p.m. Participants will meet at The Old School Trading Post, located at 14978 W 50 N, Linton. Although it’s a simple concept, Reeder’s group proves that a five-gallon bucket and a little bit of effort can make an impact.
“The cool thing is, people are going out and doing this on their own...I know what we’re doing is positive.”
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