Utahns participate in service projects as part of Sept. 11 National Day of Service

VINEYARD — On a beautiful, breezy Saturday morning, more than a hundred people came together to help clean Utah Lake.

Chris Running, who participated for the first time in the National Day of Service and Remembrance, said the project brought "a sense of oneness."

Running heard about the opportunity through his Orem congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He said service is a fitting way to mark 9/11.

"I can't think of a better way, honestly, I can't think of an alternative that would be more suitable," Running said.

He helped clean up some pieces of trash that looked like they had been on the shoreline for a long time, including a microwave. Running said he was thrilled when he saw all of the volunteers on Saturday morning, and it lightened his mood.

Multiple groups gathered throughout Utah to help beautify parks and trails, work on wildfire mitigation efforts in Tooele, improve homes in Ogden, plant trees, weed and trim school grounds in Salt Lake City and do many other service acts for the community and their neighbors.

A National Day of Service marking 9/11 became federally recognized in 2009. On Friday, President Joe Biden issued a proclamation recognizing the day this year and encouraged people to participate in service.

"Unity is what makes us who we are as Americans — it is our greatest strength. When we come together on this day, and every day, we demonstrate that even in the darkness, America remains a bright beacon of light and hope for the world," Biden said.

Sam Braegger, program manager for the Utah Lake Commission, said the group picking up trash along Utah Lake is part of the Utah Lake Commission's Adopt a Shoreline program. He said there were 10 other groups helping Saturday morning on the Utah Lake Shoreline, spread across 14 of the 27 access points to the lake. At just this location in Vineyard, there were over 100 people participating.

"The goal is trying to help beautify the shoreline … we want people's first impression when they come to Utah Lake to not be 'there's litter' — and that happens a lot in public spaces," he said.

He said this effort will help maintain the wildlife habitats while making the area safer for recreation.

Braegger said Utah Lake has been in the news recently for negative things, like algae blooms, and the response from the community has been an increase in people getting involved and asking for a way to help.

"I don't know if there's a much better feeling than a beautiful day like this, walking down by a gorgeous lake and giving back by cleaning up garbage," he said.

Shane Kaopua and his family live near the lake in Vineyard and they came down to help clean up what they consider part of their backyard with help from the city and organizations. Kaopua said it was a nice time to spend together with his family and be a part of something larger and commemorate a tragic event by building communities.

"It's nice to see that everybody kind of cares for their community, you want to be here and give service," he said.

Mardi Sifuentes, a Vineyard City Council Member said the city borders six miles of the lakefront and they work hard to keep it an enjoyable and beautiful area. She said they get a great turnout when they plan events like this.

She said when people gather for things like this, they see they aren't alone and are able to pull motivation from that.

"I think 9/11 has a soft spot in all of our hearts, and I think a lot of times it's hard to know what to do because we feel all this hurt and pain, the tragedy. And I think it's so wonderful when there's things that are local where we can show that we care and that we are community and that we do have that connection with other people," Sifuentes said.

Carol-Lyn Jardine with Conserve Utah Valley said many people have become interested in helping preserve the lake, and their group has grown. She said people often don't engage with the lake, and they are hoping to get Utah County residents interested in helping and excited about the lake.

"One of the things that I get most excited about when we partner on things like this, is that most people really actually do want to make a difference and they do want to help with just the environment and different ecological issues … they just don't know how," Jardine said.

She said people like to feel helpful and are glad to help when they have some guidance. Jardine said cleaning up the environment can be a unifying issue.

"We all can agree that keeping our natural spaces open, clean and accessible to people is something that is good for everyone, and we can find common ground there," she said.

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