FTLOTL cares about your safety and greatly appreciates your efforts.   To ensure you enjoy your experience, it is important to take some simple steps for your safety.  Most importantly, watch your step on the often muddy, rocky, and uneven terrain of the lake’s shore.  It is easy to slip and fall.  Wear older, comfortable clothes appropriate for the weather, and wear shoes that are reliable on uneven and often soggy ground.  To protect your back, avoid bending over and use a reach-it stick provided by the FTLOTL for all or most of the trash recovery. Take a break if your hands or wrists begin feeling sore. Bend at your knees slightly when leaning over, carrying your trash bag as it becomes heavier, and when placing it at the trash receptacles.  Be particularly cautious when nearing the water’s edge or moist ground.  Wearing the latex gloves provided by FTLOTL will ensure you do not pick up bacteria from the lake water or trash.  Never handle trash or glass directly, if possible.

If you work inland, be particularly cautious of insects to avoid bites and consider wearing a good repellant especially in the summer and spring months.  When working near trees and where ground cover exists, especially in the summer and fall, look for the three leaves that identify poison ivy where foliage is growing, and the three leaves of poison oak and sumac near and on trees.  Never touch or come too close to these plants.  Anyone can be burned by the oil on their surface.

And finally, drink plenty of Rainfresh water to make sure you don’t get overheated or dehydrated.

When we started cleaning at Jackson Point in 2003, we thought it would be a good excuse to get out and paddle while doing our part to keep White Rock Lake looking good.  Little did we know that we would still be enjoying the lake and still be picking up trash nine years later!

In case you are wondering, that’s 97 Second Saturday Shoreline Spruce Ups thanks to the awesome group of people who answer the call to volunteer with us.

These folks are cut from different cloth — they are hardy, resourceful, and brave — heck, it’s like a great movie, but better.  It’s live, it’s in color, and it happens every month.  We have had as few as two and as many as 40 volunteers  for a cleanup.  Over our time at the lake and using an easy number like 10 people per cleanup, that’s easily a 1000 people that have cleaned over the years!  Just imagine the number of people that we have influenced by just being at the lake and think about the message we are sending!  WOW!

Besides the great job the volunteers do each and ever month, there is the…ahem…TRASH.  Check out the picture of January’s haul — not bad for 14 people!

So, if you like a clean lake and park and want to support For the Love of the Lake with more than just words, please join us for on the next Second Saturday Shoreline Spruce Up.  It’s fun, it’s good for you and the lake, and mostly we would love to see ya!

Come on out to the FTLOTL office at Casa Linda Plaza starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, to collect your clean up supplies. And before trekking out to clean up the lake, you’ll be treated to complimentary Starbucks coffee, delicious orange juice and rich chocolate milk from Oak Farms Dairy, breakfast treats, delicious goodies from Another Broken Egg Cafe, and refreshing Rain Fresh bottled water.

Supplies are provided, including trash bags, recycling bags (courtesy of the City of Dallas Recycling Department), reach-it tools, and gloves. Participate in two consecutive Spruce-Ups, and receive a Second Saturday T-Shirt.

Thanks as well to AmReit (who provides FTLOTL our office space) Bravo to White Rock Lake Weekly for your continued support.  A HUGE round of thanks to all our Second Saturday sponsors!

The For The Love of The Lake office is located in Casa Linda Plaza, at the intersection Garland Road and Buckner Blvd, facing Buckner and Doctors Hospital near Guaranty Bank. (A note to Sprucer-Uppers: A few parking spaces in front of Guaranty Bank are reserved for bank customers. Please be courteous and leave those spots free for bank customers, as the bank is open on Saturday mornings.)

Second Saturday Shoreline Spruce-Ups are always a worthwhile couple of hours spent as stewards for our great White Rock Lake and Park. We would love to see your smiling faces on Saturday!

Come on out to meet interesting folks, enjoy refreshments, sign-up, and get supplies at the office for a fulfilling time benefiting our city’s lovely Lake and Park.

That’s Saturday, January 14! THIS Saturday. Hope to see you there!

Call 214-660-1100 for more information.

And, don’t forget to join us on Saturday, January 14 for Second Saturday Shoreline Spruce Up!

May the joy and peace of the season be with you throughout the year.

For the Love of the Lake wishes to thank all of our volunteers and sponsors for your hard work and support in 2011.

The FTLOTL office will be closed on Saturday, December 24 and on Saturday December 31.

We are looking forward to seeing you in 2012!

Come on out to the FTLOTL office at Casa Linda Plaza starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, to collect your clean up supplies. And before trekking out to clean up the lake, you’ll be treated to complimentary Starbucks coffee, delicious orange juice and rich chocolate milk from Oak Farms, delicious goodies from Another Broken Egg Cafe, and refreshing Rain Fresh bottled water.

Supplies are provided, including trash bags, recycling bags (courtesy of the City of Dallas Recycling Department), reach-it tools, and gloves. Participate in two consecutive Spruce-Ups, and receive a Second Saturday T-Shirt.

Thanks as well to AmReit (who provides FTLOTL our office space) Bravo to White Rock Lake Weekly for your continued support.  A HUGE round of thanks to all our Second Saturday sponsors!

The For The Love of The Lake office is located in Casa Linda Plaza, at the intersection Garland Road and Buckner Blvd, facing Buckner and Doctors Hospital near Guaranty Bank. (A note to Sprucer-Uppers: A few parking spaces in front of Guaranty Bank are reserved for bank customers. Please be courteous and leave those spots free for bank customers, as the bank is open on Saturday mornings.)

Second Saturday Shoreline Spruce-Ups are always a worthwhile couple of hours spent as stewards for our great White Rock Lake and Park. We would love to see your smiling faces on Saturday!

Come on out to meet interesting folks, enjoy refreshments, sign-up, and get supplies at the office for a fulfilling time benefiting our city’s lovely Lake and Park.

Sunday, December 4.
Metro-PCS White Rock Marathon 2011.  Volunteers needed to be course guides.  Contact Bernadette at bschulz01@sbcglobal.net or call 214-566-6305.

Saturday, December 10.

Second Saturday Shoreline Spruce Up. Meet us at the For the Love of the Lake office at 8:00AM to pick up supplies and enjoy breakfast treats.

For more information or to make a gift in honor, memory, or celebration of someone you love, please visit www.whiterocklake.org/grove.

We hope to see you at the FTLOTL office at Casa Linda Plaza at 8am on Saturday, October 8 where you can collect your clean up supplies.  Before heading out to the lake, you’ll be treated to Starbucks coffee, delicious orange juice and rich chocolate milk from Schepps Dairy, delicious goodies provided by Another Broken Egg Cafe and other breakfast treats, and plenty of refreshing Rain Fresh bottled water.  Supplies are provided, including trash bags, recycling bags (courtesy of the City of Dallas Recycling Department), reach-it tools, and gloves.

They started working to get it out, sending a few out into the water. A kayaker was passing by and jumped out to help. He was a retired Math teacher, and gave the kids some great tools to use to figure out how to get the pipe out of the water. By creating levers, they were finally able to get the pipe to shore , and eventually got it up by the trashcans so it could be picked up. It took a couple of hours, but was definitely worth it! It is our largest find to date!