PlayCleanGo week is an awareness event to show outdoor recreationists how they can help the spread of invasive species- while still doing all of their favorite outdoor activities. In 2024, PlayCleanGo week will be June 1–8. The Don’t Move Firewood and PlayCleanGo campaigns have been partners for many years- each campaign works to support each other’s efforts to stop the movement and spread of invasive species around North America.
Here are the 6 simple tips of PlayCleanGo Week:
- Clean your shoes, clothes, packs, and pets before and after exploring and stay on designated trails.
- Clean your horse’s hooves and feed them weed-free certified hay before your adventure.
- Clean, Drain, and Dry your watercraft and angling equipment to Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers!
- Don’t Move Firewood! Buy it where you burn it, buy certified heat-treated firewood, or gather on site when permitted.
- Before traveling to new areas, inspect and clean your trailers, off road vehicles, and recreational vehicles with water or compressed air to remove mud, plant parts, and hidden pests.
- Take the PlayCleanGo Pledge and invite your family and friends to do the same at PlayCleanGo.org.
The PlayCleanGo Week website has an excellent new toolkit with ideas, images, text, and more. Visit their site at PlayCleanGo.org
Partnership Information:
PlayCleanGo and PlayCleanGo Week are outreach campaigns of NAISMA, the North American Invasive Species Management Association. Don’t Move Firewood is an outreach campaign of the Forest Health Program of The Nature Conservancy. These two non-profit outreach efforts and their staff work together, along with the Hungry Pests campaign of USDA APHIS, to coordinate messaging and enhance the quality of outreach nationwide, to serve our mutual goals of slowing the spread of invasive species throughout North America.